APSU hosts 19th Annual Bread and Words reading on November 26th
November 8, 2013
Clarksville, TN – Every November, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, the Austin Peay State University Department of Languages and Literature hosts a benefit reading that not only celebrates the written word, but also raises public awareness of hunger in the local community.
This year, the tradition continues with the 19th Annual Bread and Words reading on November 26th in the APSU Morgan University Center Ballroom. [Read more]
APSU Employees share recent professional developments, activities
July 30, 2013
Clarksville, TN – Faculty and staff members at Austin Peay State University recently announced a number of publications, conferences and credentials as part of their professional and scholarly activities.
Chris Burawa, director of the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, has had several professional developments. He translated from Icelandic a short story by Óskar Magnússon, “Dr. Amplatz,” which will be published in Best European Fiction 2014 by Dalkey Archive Press. [Read more]
APSU hosts 18th annual Bread and Words reading on November 20th
November 5, 2012
Clarksville, TN – Every November, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, the Austin Peay State University Department of Languages and Literature hosts a benefit reading that not only celebrates the written word, but also raises public awareness of hunger in the local community.
This year, the tradition continues with the 18th Annual Bread and Words reading on November 20th in the APSU Morgan University Center Ballroom. [Read more]
APSU Acuff Chair of Excellence holder for 2012-13 to be Noted Writer David Huddle
August 30, 2012
Austin Peay State University
Clarksville, TN – Earlier this year, the award-winning writer David Huddle was contacted by Dr. Amy Wright, Austin Peay State University assistant professor of creative writing. Both writers hailed from rural Wythe County, VA, and after a bit of reminiscing about local haunts they both knew, Wright asked Huddle a question.
How would he, a two-time National Endowment of the Arts fellow and author of more than 17 books of poetry, fiction and essays, like to spend a few months this fall and next spring in Clarksville, working with APSU creative writing students? [Read more]
Former Green Beret to read poetry at APSU on August 30th
July 27, 2012
Clarksville, TN – In 1993, a young Green Beret named Joe Shakeenab sought shelter from the hot sun in the African nation of Somalia. Sitting in his combat fatigues under the shade of a tent, he pulled out a notebook and a pencil and began scribbling a few lines of verse.
“When you’re gone on deployments, that’s the way you go on with yourself, just to maintain your own mind,” he said. “I wrote about what I’d seen and what I thought. I told the experiences through poetry.”
Joe Shakeenab
Austin Peay State University will have Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins visit for a Reading on Marth 16th
February 7, 2012
Clarksville, TN – If one were to rank the country’s top poets (which I would never recommend doing), Billy Collins would likely top most lists. Aside from being both critically acclaimed and commercially popular, he is frequently heard on National Public Radio, and his appointment in 2001 as the Poet Laureate of the United States has afforded him a certain name recognition uncommon for most lyricists.
But attempting to rank poets and poetry in this way is a bit unseemly, so one is forced to judge the man on his work. That’s where Collins stands out, using a light touch to suddenly transform a humorous piece into something serious.
Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins
APSU Center of Excellence Creates YouTube Videos about Upcoming Fall Performances
September 29, 2011
Clarksville, TN – One of the perks of attending the state’s designated liberal arts university, with Tennessee’s only Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, is there’s no shortage of things to do. On almost any night of the week, Austin Peay State University freshmen can attend poetry readings, art gallery openings, plays, dance performances or musical concerts, all within a few feet of their residence halls.
Poetry reading held at Austin Peay State University
September 19, 2011
Clarksville, TN – On September 15th, at 4:00pm, two Award-winning Poets gave a poetry reading at the APSU’s Gentry Auditorium in the Kimbrough Building.
American Book Award-winning author and poet Rigoberto González, visited APSU to read his work. Afterwards, he introduced Amanda Auchter who read from her prize-winning collection. Her book, “The Glass Crib,” won the 2010 Zone 3 First Book Award for Poetry, an annual contest hosted by Austin Peay State University’s literary journal and the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts.
Creative writing professor kicks off lecture series
August 30, 2011
Clarksville, TN – The written words of Emily Dickinson, Sappho, Dorothy Allison, Abigail Thomas and Jane Tompkins all have something in common – their powerful voices speak for those misrepresented or underrepresented.
This is the basis of a research presentation by Dr. Amy Wright, assistant professor of creative writing at Austin Peay State University. She is one of several faculty members chosen to present their research and creative activity on campus during the 2011-12 academic year as part of the Provost Lecture Series.
Abigail Thomas and Dorothy Allison
Two Award-winning Poets to Read at APSU on September 15th
August 15, 2011
Clarksville, TN – A few months ago, the noted American poet and Guggenheim Fellow Michael Burkard flipped through a new book of poetry by Amanda Auchter. It took him a while to finish it because he kept pausing to think about what he’d just read.
“I am often stopped by set moments and phrasings in these poems, and despite the emotional facts of so many of the poems, I rest there, among various phrases, and feel language doing its, often strangely, quiet part,” he said.
The book, “The Glass Crib,” recently won the 2010 Zone 3 First Book Award for Poetry, an annual contest hosted by Austin Peay State University’s literary journal and the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts.
Amanda Auchter
