As a girl in rural Texas, Ann-Chadwell Humphries competed in poetry recitation. After retirement, she took community writing classes, then graduate poetry classes at UofSC, and online classes with the University of Iowa, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Hadley Institute for the Blind. Last year, Muddy Ford Press selected Ann as the second in their Laureate series to publish her first book of poetry, An Eclipse and a Butcher. Winner of poetry contests, awards, and scholarships, Ann regularly has work published everywhere from literary journals to city buses. A rogue gene, retinitis pigmentosa, gradually diminished her peripheral vision to a pinpoint, but Ann sees with more than her eyes—she sees with her whole being. Ann reads and writes using assistive technology. She has been designated a Notable Woman of South Carolina by UofSC’s Special Collections Library, who is currently in the process of archiving her poetry papers.
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Julia Peterkin was a white woman who wrote about Gullah people living on her family’s plantation out of a desire to honor and preserve their culture. She was shunned by white Southerners for “betraying her race” but became accepted by Harlem Renaissance writers, such as Langston Hughes and W.E.B. DuBois. Regardless of criticism, she continued … Read more
In 1863, both women were in South Carolina’s Lowcountry—Barton provided supplies and medical care for Union and Confederate soldiers at the Battle of Fort Waggoner with Massachusetts’s 54th Regiment. Tubman, a formerly enslaved woman, ran reconnaissance and led Union forces up the Combahee River to free more than 700 enslaved persons. This presentation recognizes two … Read more
Poetry puts thoughts into words into actions and has a unique ability to be converted into wealth, wealth amassed as confidence, influence, and quality of life. Though timeless, poetry has a distinct cultural relevance in 2021; new voices spring from everywhere—those of various races, genders, sexualities, religions, ethnicities—and appear everywhere—social media, presidential inaugurations, and even … Read more
Humphries wrote extensively during her career, but as her career progressed, so did retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disorder causing loss of peripheral vision. In 2012, she learned to write poetry in community classes, then graduate poetry classes at UofSC, studying under poets such as Nikky Finney and Ed Madden, who would later become the editor … Read more
Humphries sees with more than her eyes; she perceives with her entire being—signature of a stride, voices as distinct as thumbprints, memory as toned and sleek as an elite athlete, blended with sense of humor and common sense. Ann’s sensory inventory infuses her poetry, which in turn operates as a vehicle for sense to explore … Read more
