APSU celebrates National Poetry Month with free reading by renowned poets
April 22, 2012
Austin Peay State University
Clarksville, TN – April is National Poetry Month, and the Austin Peay State University Honors Program and the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts are celebrating by bringing in two nationally renowned poets for a free reading at 4:00pm on April 23rd in the APSU Honors Commons.
The reading, which is part of the Center’s Spring Salon Series, will feature Pam Uschuk, referred to by The Bloomsbury Review as “one of the most insightful and spirited poets today,” and William Pitt Root, a Guggenheim Fellow and former Tucson Poet Laureate.

Poets Pam Uschuk (left) and William Pitt Root (right) will read on April 23rd at Austin Peay State University.
Austin Peay State University Area of Dance recognized at regional dance festival
April 17, 2012
Clarksville, TN – On a recent Thursday afternoon, Margaret Rennerfeldt flipped through a small, flimsy journal to read a few notes she’d jotted down earlier this month while attending the American College Dance Festival Association’s Southeast Region conference in Albany, GA.
The Austin Peay State University assistant professor of dance had brought a work she choreographed to the event, and she wanted to remind herself of what the panel of judges had said about the dance.

APSU dance students perform assistant professor of dance Margaret Rennerfeldt’s piece “Finding Place,” which was selected for the gala performance at the ACDFA’s regional conference.
The Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet closed out the 51st Mid-South Jazz Festival
April 3, 2012
Clarksville, TN – The 51st Mid-South Jazz Festival closed out on Saturday with a concert by the Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet in the Music/Mass Communication Building Concert Hall on Austin Peay State University. The concert was put on by the Clarksville Community Concert Association (CCCA) and the APSU Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts; and sponsored by The Leaf Chronicle, and the Clarksville Arts and Heritage Development Council.
The Mid-South Jazz Festival is a three-day musical event in the APSU Music/Mass Communication Building Concert Hall that was founded in 1961 as a way of bringing jazz musicians to Clarksville to work with APSU students. It has since morphed in the last 26 years, under David Steinquest’s leadership, into one of the region’s most successful, professional jazz experiences. Luminaries such as the Joel Frahm Quartet, pianist Fred Hersch and even Jason Marsalis’ older brother Delfeayo have visited the University over the years as part of the festival.
Austin Peay State University retiring professor James Diehr to be honored at April 5th Salon Event
April 1, 2012
Clarksville, TN – Here’s how artist and Austin Peay State University professor James Diehr described his new retrospective exhibit, “memories unwound,” coming to the Downtown Artist Coop:
“It’s a grand opening/going out of business deal.”
The “grand opening” refers to some new works he’s including in the exhibit. The “going out of business” phrasing hints at Diehr’s upcoming retirement after 42 years of teaching – 30 of those years as a professor, art department chair and first dean of the College of Arts and Letters at APSU.
Austin Peay State University to host reading by Award Winning Poet Marilyn Kallet April 2nd
March 31, 2012
Clarksville, TN – A few years ago, an interviewer asked the acclaimed poet and translator Marilyn Kallet where she found inspiration. Her answer hinted at the stunningly complex and expansive nature of her work.
“Anywhere and everywhere,” she said of her inspiration. “I’ve written lots of love poems and poems about family history, but also about race and history, about the Holocaust and my family.” [Read more]
Clarksville Community Concert Association preents the Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet
March 23, 2012
Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet offers rare treat
Clarksville, TN – The 51st Mid-South Jazz Festival features the Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet Saturday, March 31st at 7:30pm on the campus of Austin Peay State University in the Music/Mass Communication Building Concert Hall.
This culminates the 2011-12 Clarksville Community Concert Association (CCCA) season and promises to be an exceptional evening of music for Clarksville audiences and jazz lovers.
Austin Peay State University Spring Salon Series to discuss “Faces of Valor” book honoring county’s armed services veterans March 12th
March 8, 2012
Clarksville, TN – In early 2003, Gerald Gilman, Randy Rubel and a committee undertook a monumental task. They put out a call for veterans and their families in Montgomery County to bring in pictures and service details for a collection to be titled “Faces of Valor.”
Those items are now displayed in the restored Montgomery County Courthouse, and a guidebook was printed, featuring 255 entries of soldiers serving from numerous eras. [Read more]
Tennessee artist Olen Bryant to be honored at Sunday’s Austin Peay State University’s Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts’ annual CECA Ovation Awards
March 2, 2012
Clarksville, TN – For decades, artist and Austin Peay State University emeritus professor Olen Bryant has inspired students and community members through his patient demeanor and innovative sculptural works. His reputation as an artist was solidified locally in the early 1980s when his piece, “The Sentinel,” was unveiled as a permanent, public art installation in the center of the APSU campus.
But at 2:00pm on March 4th, the University will again recognize him when he is named the recipient of this year’s George Mabry Award, presented during the APSU Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts’ annual Ovation Awards Ceremony at the Customs House Museum and Cultural Center auditorium. [Read more]
Poet and father to discuss parenthood and Down syndrome at Austin Peay State University’s Asanbe Diversity Symposium
February 29, 2012
Clarksville, TN – When George Estreich, an award-winning, Oregon-based poet, first saw his newborn daughter Laura, he was curious about her eyes. His mother, after all, was Japanese, which might account for the slight, almond shape. But this was something different, he would soon learn.
Young Laura had Down syndrome. [Read more]
Austin Peay State University hosts Annual Guitar Festival February 20th and 21st
February 17, 2012
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University’s Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts is bringing its annual Guitar Gestival, featuring guest artist concerts and master classes, back to Clarksville this month.
The concerts, which are free and open to the public, begin at 7:30pm on February 20th-21st in the Music/Mass Communication Building Concert Hall. [Read more]









