The Poetry Society of South Carolina will offer a series of six poetry readings, discussions, and workshops from August 2024 – January 2025 in Charleston and Columbia as part of their “Every Corner, Every County Reading Series.” Featured poets include Jo Angela Edwins, Claire Bateman, Al Black, Quitman Marshall, Adam Houle, and Angelo Geter. SC Humanities supported this program with a Fast Track Literary Grant.
Through the “Every Corner, Every County Reading Series,” the Poetry Society of South Carolina is working to expand their reach beyond the Lowcountry and create new audiences for poetry by offering diverse voices. Once limited to Charleston audiences only, the ECEC Reading Series will operate year-round and will feature three readings in each of four regions: the Pee Dee, Midlands, Upstate, and the Lowcountry. The series will be free and open to the public.
Scheduled programs include:
Saturday, August 3, 2024 | 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Workshop with Jo Angela Edwins
Jo Angela Edwins teaches creative writing, American Literature, and composition at Francis Marion University in Florence, SC, and serves as the first poet laureate of the Pee Dee region of SC. Her poems have appeared in journals and publications including Calyx, Adanna, Naugatuck, River Review, descant, Breakwater Review, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, and other venues. Her chapbook, Play, was published in 2016 by Finishing Line Press. She received the Carrie McCray Nickens Poetry Fellowship Prize from the South Carolina Academy of Authors in 2014. Her latest collection, A Dangerous Heaven, was published in 2023 by Gnashing Teeth Publishing.
Location: Gage Hall, 4 Archdale Street, Charleston, SC 29401
OR register for Zoom: https://www.poetrysocietysc.org/event-info/workshop-with-jo-angela-edwins
Saturday, August 3, 2024 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Reading with Jo Angela Edwins
Location: Gage Hall, 4 Archdale Street, Charleston, SC 29401
OR register for Zoom: https://www.poetrysocietysc.org/event-info/reading-with-jo-angela-edwins
Saturday, September 7, 2024 | 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Workshop with Claire Bateman
A teacher and visual artist, Claire Bateman is the author of Wonders of the Invisible World (42 Miles Press, 2023) and eight other poetry books: Scape (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2016), Locals (Serving House Books, 2012), Coronology (Etruscan Press, 2010), Leap (New Issues, 2005), Clumsy (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2003), Friction (Eighth Mountain Poetry Prize, 1998), At the Funeral of the Ether (Ninety-Six Press, 1998), and The Bicycle Slow Race (Wesleyan University Press, 1991). Her fiction collection, The Pillow Museum, is forthcoming from FC2 in early 2025. She has been awarded Individual Artist Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the Surdna Foundation.
Location: Meet outside the gate at the Gin Joint, 184 E Bay St, Charleston, SC
Please join us in person or on Zoom for this workshop! Because we are meeting at a private residence, we are requiring registration in advance. Thank you for understanding!
Register here for Zoom or in-person attendance: https://www.poetrysocietysc.org/event-info/workshop-with-claire-bateman-advance-registration-required
Saturday, September 7, 2024 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Reading with Claire Bateman
A teacher and visual artist, Claire Bateman is the author of Wonders of the Invisible World (42 Miles Press, 2023) and eight other poetry books: Scape (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2016), Locals (Serving House Books, 2012), Coronology (Etruscan Press, 2010), Leap (New Issues, 2005), Clumsy (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2003), Friction (Eighth Mountain Poetry Prize, 1998), At the Funeral of the Ether (Ninety-Six Press, 1998), and The Bicycle Slow Race (Wesleyan University Press, 1991). Her fiction collection, The Pillow Museum, is forthcoming from FC2 in early 2025. She has been awarded Individual Artist Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the Surdna Foundation.
Location: Meet outside the gate at the Gin Joint, 184 E Bay St, Charleston, SC
Advance registration is required because of limited space.
Register here: https://www.poetrysocietysc.org/event-info/reading-with-claire-bateman-advance-registration-required
Saturday, October 5, 2024 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Reading with Al Black
Al Black writes poetry, hosts workshops, and since 2010, has hosted over 1,000 poetry/music events in the Midlands of SC. He is author of two books of poetry, I Only Left for Tea (2014 Muddy Ford Press), Man with Two Shadows (2018 Muddy Ford Press); co-editor Hand in Hand: Poets Respond to Race (2017 Muddy Ford Press); was the 2017 Jasper Literary Artist of the Year; co-founded the Poets Respond to Race Initiative; co-hosts Chewing the Gristle, a poetry chat YouTube series, and has a weekly byline in jasperproject.org – Poetry of the People.
Location: Gage Hall, 4 Archdale Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Free and open to the public
Registration requested: https://www.poetrysocietysc.org/event-info/reading-with-al-black/form
Zoom link for the reading: Saturday 6 p.m. Reading
Saturday, November 2, 2024 | 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Workshop with Quitman Marshall
Born in SC, Quitman Marshall has been lucky to live in Barcelona, D.C., Amherst, New York City, and Paris. Back in SC, he was the founding coordinator of the literary series at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston. In addition to the titles listed in “Prizes” and “Publishing Credits,” his chapbooks, published in small letterpress editions, include THE BIRTH GIFT (1986), 14th STREET (1988), THE SLOW COMET (1996), and SOME BIG FISH & SMALL POND ELEGIES (1997).
Location: Richland Library Main, 1431 Assembly Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Free and open to the public
Registration requested: https://www.poetrysocietysc.org/event-info/workshop-with-quitman-marshall
Saturday, November 2, 2024 | 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Reading with Quitman Marshall
Location: Richland Library Main, 1431 Assembly Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Free and open to the public
Registration requested: https://www.poetrysocietysc.org/event-info/reading-with-quitman-marshall
Saturday, December 7, 2024 | 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Workshop with Bo Bryan
Bo Bryan is the first poet laureate chosen to represent Myrtle Beach. As a literary craftsman, he is primarily self-taught, autodidactic through lifelong habit and innate love for the sounds of words.
Location: Richland Library Main, 1431 Assembly Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Free and open to the public
Registration requested: https://www.poetrysocietysc.org/event-info/workshop-with-bo-bryan/form
Saturday, December 7, 2024 | 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Reading with Bo Bryan
Bo Bryan is the first poet laureate chosen to represent Myrtle Beach. As a literary craftsman, he is primarily self-taught, autodidactic through lifelong habit and innate love for the sounds of words.
Location: Richland Library Main, 1431 Assembly Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Free and open to the public
Registration requested: https://www.poetrysocietysc.org/event-info/reading-with-bo-bryan/form
Saturday, January 4, 2025 | 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Workshop with Angelo Geter
Angelo Geter received a BA in Political Science from Winthrop University and a MS in Higher Education from Drexel University. He is a poet and performance artist also known in the spoken word world as “EyeAmBic.”
Location: Richland Library Main, 1431 Assembly Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Free and open to the public
Registration requested: https://www.poetrysocietysc.org/event-info/workshop-with-angelo-geter/form
Saturday, January 4, 2025 | 3:00 – 4:30
Reading with Angelo Geter
Angelo Geter is a National Poetry Slam champion, Rustbelt Regional Poetry Slam finalist, Southern Fried Regional Poetry Slam finalist, and a 2019 All-America City winner. He has performed at venues and competitions across the country, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Watering Hole.
Location: Richland Library Main, 1431 Assembly Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Free and open to the public
Registration requested: https://www.poetrysocietysc.org/event-info/reading-with-angelo-geter/form
Saturday, February 1, 2025 | 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Workshop with Jennifer Bartell Boykin – Foodways in Poetry
Collard greens, okra, fried chicken, company chicken, pileau (pronounced perlo), sweet tea, pound cake and more appear throughout my poetry. Each dish is important to my experiences with my family and my community. Think of the dishes that are staples for you. What are the memories you have with that food? How do you feel while eating it? Who are you with? The tastes, textures, and smells are the menu for memory, emotion, and therefore poetry. In this workshop, we will explore the connections between food, memory, and poetry. Come with 1-2 dishes and memories associated with them in mind. If you have a family recipe you’d like to explore, bring that too.
Location: Greenville Center for Creative Arts, 101 Abney St, Greenville, SC 29611
Free and open to the public
Registration requested: https://www.poetrysocietysc.org/event-info/workshop-with-jennifer-bartell-boykin
Saturday, February 1, 2025 | 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Reading with Jennifer Bartell Boykin
Jennifer Bartell Boykin is the Poet Laureate of the City of Columbia, South Carolina. She was born and raised in Bluefield, a community of Johnsonville, SC. She received an MFA in Creative Writing with a Poetry Concentration (2014) and an MLS (2024).
Location: Greenville Center for Creative Arts, 101 Abney St, Greenville, SC 29611
Free and open to the public
Registration requested: https://www.poetrysocietysc.org/event-info/reading-with-jennifer-bartell-boykin
The Poetry Society of South Carolina hosts free readings and lectures and fosters the craft of poetry by offering seminars, workshops, writers’ groups, and prizes that include cash awards and publication. Among the major American poets they have featured through the years are Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robert Frost, Henry Taylor, and Billy Collins. Learn more: https://www.poetrysocietysc.org/.
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.
