YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. — The annual Byron Herbert Reece Lecture at Young Harris College will feature American poets Barbara Hamby and David Kirby on Thursday, April 4 at 7 p.m. in Suber Banquet Hall of the Rollins Campus Center at YHC. The campus is located at 1 College St., Young Harris, Ga. 30582. Both poets will deliver readings of their works, followed by a book signing. Presented by YHC’s Creative Writing program and the Arts and Assemblies Committee, this event is free and open to the public.
Barbara Hamby is the author of six books of poems, most recently “Bird Odyssey” (2018) and “On the Street of Divine Love: New and Selected Poems” (2014). She was a 2010 Guggenheim Fellow in Poetry, and her book of short stories, “Lester Higata’s 20th Century,” won the 2010 Iowa Short Fiction Award. Her poems have appeared in many magazines and newspapers, including The New Yorker, Poetry, American Poetry Review, Ploughshares, Yale Review and The New York Times. She has also edited an anthology of poems, “Seriously Funny” (2009), with her husband David Kirby. She teaches at Florida State University, where she is a Distinguished University Scholar.
David Kirby’s poetry collection “The House on Boulevard St.: New and Selected Poems” (2007) was a finalist for the National Book Award the same year it was published. Kirby is the author of numerous poetry collections, most recently “Get Up, Please” (2016), as well as the biography “Little Richard: The Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll” (2009), which the Times Literary Supplement of London called “a hymn of praise to the emancipatory power of nonsense.” He teaches at Florida State University, where he is the Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of English. Kirby’s honors include fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. In 2016, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Florida Humanities Council.
“April is National Poetry Month, and I can think of no better way to celebrate than by bringing two of our finest poets to campus,” said YHC Assistant Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing Chelsea Rathburn. “Barbara Hamby and David Kirby are not just incredible poets, but gifted performers and storytellers. Their reading will be electrifying.”
The Byron Herbert Reece Lecture was established in 1966 in memory of noted poet and YHC alumnus and former instructor Byron Herbert Reece, ’40. This annual lecture honors his memory and contributions to the world of letters by bringing noted writers to campus. To learn more about Reece, visit byronherbertreecesociety.org.
For more information about this event, call Chelsea Rathburn at (706) 379-5224.
About Young Harris College
Young Harris College is a private baccalaureate and master’s degree-granting institution located in the beautiful mountains of North Georgia. Founded in 1886 and historically affiliated with The United Methodist Church, Young Harris College educates, inspires and empowers students through an education that purposefully integrates the liberal arts and professional studies. The College has three academic divisions: Arts and Humanities, Professional Studies, and Mathematics, Science and Technology, with more than 1,400 students enrolled in its residential and Early College programs. The historic campus in Young Harris, Ga., has completed major campus improvements to accommodate the College’s growth. LEED-certified campus improvements include the 121,000-square-foot Rollins Campus Center, residence facilities and a 57,000-square-foot recreation and fitness center. The College is an active member of the NCAA Division II and remains a fierce competitor in the prestigious Peach Belt Conference. For more information, visit yhc.edu.
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