Charleston Southern University hosts an annual Visiting Writers Series. For 2023-2024, they plan to host poets Lauren K. Carlson and Mathew Merson in November and poet Ray McManus in April. The free series is open to students and the community. SC Humanities supported this program with a Fast Track Literary Grant.
The November program will take place on Friday, November 10, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. in Ashby Hall at Charleston Southern University (9200 University Blvd., North Charleston, SC 29486). The program will feature Lauren K. Carlson and Matthew Merson.
Lauren K. Carlson is a mother of three and the author of a chapbook: Animals I have Killed. She currently serves as editor for Tinderbox Poetry Journal.
Matthew Merson is a poet and a teacher in the low country of South Carolina. His work can be found in The James Dickey Review, Poetry South, and Complete Sentence.
The April program will take place on Friday, April 12, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. in Ashby Hall at Charleston Southern University (9200 University Blvd., North Charleston, SC 29486). The program will feature poet Ray McManus.
Ray McManus is the author of Driving Through the Country Before You Are Born (USC Press), Left Behind (Stepping Stones Press), Red Dirt Jesus (Marick Press), and Punch (Hub City Press). He teaches writing at USC Sumter, where he holds the position of Chair of the Division of Arts and Letters and the Division of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education. His newest collection of poetry The Last Saturday in America was published in April 2024 with Hub City Press.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c)3 organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos, and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually. South Carolina Humanities receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as corporate, foundation and individual donors. The National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
