The Poetry Society of South Carolina will present Poetry at McLeod in spring and fall 2019. This acclaimed series, held at a southern cotton plantation, presents African American poets illuminating the experience and legacy of enslavement and offers a free poetry workshop geared to all levels of experience. SC Humanities supported this program with a Major Grant.
The first event features Glenis Redmond. The writing workshop will be Saturday, April 27, from 2-4 p.m., location to be announced. On Sunday, April 28 from 2-4 p.m. there will be a poetry reading, Q&A, and a book signing and reception at McLeod Plantation Historic Site. Admission to McLeod is free for the first fifty people who come for poetry, thanks in part to the City of Charleston.
Glenis Redmond, MFA, is Poet-in-Residence both at The Peace Center for the Performing Arts in Greenville, SC, and at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ, as well as a Kennedy Center Teaching Artist. Among her awards are a Cave Canem fellowship, the Nazim Hikmet Poetry Festival competition, and the Plattner Award. She has published three poetry collections, What My Hand Say (Press 53, 2016); Under the Sun (Main Street Rag, 2008); Backbone (Aqyil, 1997); and two CDs, “Monumenta” and “Glenis on Poetry.”
Looking ahead, other programs in the series include:
June 8-9, Roger Reeves, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English, University of Texas at Austin.
RESCHEDULED – September 7-8, Tyree Daye, MFA, Assistant Professor of English, St. Augustine’s University, Raleigh, NC – RESCHEDULED TO NOVEMBER DUE TO HURRICANE DORIAN
October 12-13, Geffrey Davis, MFA., Assistant Professor of English, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
November 9 – 10, Tyree Daye, MFA, Assistant Professor of English, St. Augustine’s University, Raleigh, NC
Saturday, November 9, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
James Island Poetry Workshop with Tyree Daye
James Island Branch Library, 1248 Camp Road
Free and open to the public. No writing experience necessary.
“Writing the “I”: Giving Our Poems Identity” This workshop is based on a game we played as children, going underwater to see who could hold their breath the longest. When the poet submerges into the dream-state, the images of the poem are found there. The moment the poet comes up for air, the poem starts to become writing. The poet’s personal story and the symbols merge to create an emotional connection to the reader.
Sunday, November 10, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Poetry at McLeod
McLeod Plantation Historic Site, 325 Country Club Dr., Charleston
Free to the first fifty people who come for poetry. Thereafter, normal Charleston County Parks admission fees apply.
McLeod Plantation Historic Sites is an important Gullah heritage site preserved for its cultural and historical significance.
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 20-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or 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.
