Publication Date
11-1-2022
Abstract
JOHNSON CITY – Dr. Jesse Graves, the poet-in-residence and a professor of English at East Tennessee State University, is the featured writer at the 40th Annual Appalachian Literary Festival at Emory & Henry College in Virginia.
The event is Nov. 3-4.
“I feel especially humbled and grateful to be recognized by the Emory & Henry College festival, as many of my mentors and my literary heroes, like Robert Morgan, Jeff Daniel Marion, Lee Smith and Charles Wright, have been their featured authors in the past,” said Graves. “For me, this celebration represents the essence of the warmth and fellowship in Appalachian literature, and I couldn’t be more honored to have my work set in the lineage of those writers who came here before me.”
Graves is the author of four poetry collections, including “Merciful Days,” and a collection of essays, “Said-Songs: Essays on Poetry and Place.” His work received the James Still Award for Writing about the Appalachian South from the Fellowship of Southern Writers and two Weatherford Awards from Berea College.
Dr. Jesse Graves
He will give a poetry reading, public interview and a lecture on writing about place.
ETSU’s Drs. Thomas Alan Holmes and Scott Honeycutt will also present a paper.
“The Emory & Henry Literary Festival recognizes outstanding writing from the Appalachian region,” said Dr. Nicole Drewitz-Crockett, festival director. “This year’s honoree, Jesse Graves, is an award-winning poet and scholar whose focus on home, both its comforts and its complexities, places him at the heart of Appalachian consciousness and among the finest of our regional authors, many of whom have preceded him in this honor.”
Tal Stanley, a professor at Emory & Henry, added: “For the Appalachian region, this event has influenced how we understand this place and our shared membership here. The 2022 Festival honors poet Jesse Graves for his lifework and commitment to these same values for all the people and places of Appalachia.”
Document Type
News Article
