Spring 2010 Thornton Writer-in-Residence
Dr. Irene McKinney will read from her work Wednesday, February 17, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hopwood Auditorium with a reception and book signing to follow. The reading, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Richard H. Thornton Endowment in English and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Dr. Irene McKinney is the author of The Girl with a Stone in Her Lap (North Atlantic, 1976): The Wasps at the Blue Hexagons (Small Plot Press, 1984): Quick Fire and Slow Fire (North Atlantic, 1988): Six O'Clock Mine Report (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1989): Vivid Companion (Vandalia Press, 2004): and Unthinkable: New and Selected Poems (Red Hen Press, 2009).
She edited the anthology Backcountry: Contemporary Writing in West Virginia (West Virginia University Press, 2002). She was appointed Poet Laureate of West Virginia in 1994. Her poems have appeared in leading journals, including American Voice, Arts & Letters, The Georgia Review, The Kenyon Review, and Poetry. She completed a Ph.D. at the University of Utah. An interview with Dr. McKinney is viewable on YouTube.
Spring 2010 Guest Reader
Cleopatra Mathis will read from her work Wednesday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hopwood Auditorium. Reception and book signing to follow. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Richard H. Thornton Endowment in English and The School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Cleopatra Mathis was born and raised in Ruston, Louisiana, of Greek and Cherokee descent. Her first five books of poems were published by Sheep Meadow Press. A sixth collection, White Sea, finalist for the Texas Institute of Letters Award, was published by Sarabande Books in 2005.
Cleopatra Mathis' work has appeared widely in anthologies, textbooks, magazines and journals, including The Best American Poetry, 2009, The New Yorker, Poetry, American Poetry Review, Three Penny Review, Tri-Quarterly, The Southern Review, The Georgia Review, The Made Thing: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern Poetry, The Extraordinary Tide: Poetry by American Women, and The Practice of Poetry. Various prizes for her work include two National Endowment for the Arts grants, in 1984 and 2003; the Jane Kenyon Award for Outstanding Book of Poems in 2001; the Peter Lavin Award for Younger Poets from the Academy of American Poets; two Pushcart Prizes: 1980 and 2006; The Robert Frost Resident Poet Award; a 1981-82 Fellowship in Poetry at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts; The May Sarton Award; and four Individual Artist Fellowships in Poetry from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the New Jersey State Arts Council.
Cleopatra Mathis is the Frederick Sessions Beebe '35 Professor of the Art of Writing at Dartmouth College, where she founded the creative writing program in 1982.
Fall 2009 Thornton Writer-in-Residence
Jennifer Clement will read from her work Wednesday, September 30, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hopwood Auditorium. Reception and book signing to follow. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Richard H. Thornton Endowment in English and The School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Jennifer Clement is the author of the memoir, Widow Basquiat; the novels, A True Story Based on Lies and The Poison That Fascinates; as well as several books of poetry. Her work has been translated into ten languages. Clement is the recipient of several prizes and fellowships. Her writing has won international acclaim. She lives in Mexico City and is the President of PEN Mexico.
More information is available at www.jennifer-clement.com.
Fall 2009 Guest Reader
Farnoosh Moshiri will read on Wednesday, October 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hopwood Auditorium. Reception and book signing to follow. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Richard H. Thornton Endowment in English and The School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Iranian-born writer Farnoosh Moshiri earned degrees from the College of Dramatic Arts of Tehran, University of Iowa, and University of Houston. In 1983, she fled her country and lived in refugee camps of Afghanistan and India for four years before emigrating to the U.S. in 1987. Her novels and story collections include At the Wall of the Almighty; The Bathhouse; The Crazy Dervish and the Pomegranate Tree; and Against Gravity. Her many awards include the Barbara Deming Award, a grant to feminist writers whose work speaks of peace and social justice. Her recent novel, Against Gravity, was chosen by Barnes and Noble for their "Discover New Writers" Series and by Borders Books as an "Original Voices" selection.
More info is available at www.farnooshmoshiri.net.
The 2008-09 Thornton Writers- in-Residence were Robert Olmstead and Janet Sylvester. Readers were Ann Pancake and David Huddle.
Janet Sylvester, Spring 2009 Writer-in-Residence.
David Huddle, Spring 2009 Guest Reader
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Robert Olmstead, Fall 2008 Writer-in-Residence
Ann Pancake, Fall 2008 Guest Reader
The Richard H. Thornton Endowment
Dr. Richard H. Thornton, 1907 alumnus of Lynchburg College, was a distinguished teacher, writer, and publisher. He became president of Henry Holt and Company publishers and established friendships with such writers as Carl Sandburg, Thomas Wolfe, and Vachel Lindsay. He was both editor and friend to Robert Frost.
Since 1975 the endowment established in his name has made it possible for the Department of English to bring some of the most exciting and successful poets, novelists, dramatists, and nonfiction writers of our time to the College. These writers have taught classes, given readings, and enriched the cultural life of the campus.
An Impressive List of Writers
Among the writers who have appeared on campus are Edward Albee, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, John Knowles, Stephen Spender, Joseph Heller, Alice McDermott, James Baldwin, Cokie Roberts, Nikki Giovanni, Clive Barker, John Barth, Denise Levertov, Ellen Gilchrist, Jay McInerney, Gore Vidal, Tillie Olsen, Jamaica Kincaid, Peter Shaffer, Larry Brown, Jan DeBlieu, Lee Smith, Tobias Wolff, John Gardner, Nora Ephron, and Stanley Plumley.
The Thornton Writer-in-Residence Workshop
Each semester a writer comes to the College to teach a semester-long class. To ensure individualized instruction, the class size is limited to fifteen students. Eligibility is determined through submission of sample writings. Any student, regardless of major, may apply.
Students often take more than one Thornton writing course during their four years, and academic credit earned can count toward an English major or toward elective hours, depending on the student's needs.
The visiting writer also gives public readings, conducts other classes at the request of professors, and is available for private conferences with student and faculty writers.
Public Readings and Short Workshops
Thornton writers commonly visit campus for one or two days. The centerpiece of such visits is a public reading or lecture. Writers also frequently meet with classes or conduct workshops for students interested in creative writing.
The LC Writing Program
The Thornton program is part of the larger writing program at Lynchburg College. Other courses in creative writing include Introduction to Creative Writing, Fiction Writing, and Poetry Writing, all of which are taught by regular faculty of LC who are both teachers and writers. Among the faculty are published fiction writers, poets, playwrights, journalists, and essayists.
The small classroom setting and 15:1 student/faculty ratio assure accessible faculty and lively classes.
For further information, please contact Allison Wilkins at wilkins.a@lynchburg.edu.