Part 3 of 4 of the series is now up at the Pine Belt News. We’re grateful as always to the editors.

Delighted to learn that the manuscript of my poetry collection The Singing River was a semifinalist for the 2020 Marystina Santiestevan First Book Prize, from Conduit Books— thrilled to join the other honorees, and delighted for Suphil Lee Park, the winner!

I’m honored that part 2 of 4 of the series on the Confederate monument in Hattiesburg is now up at the Pine Belt News. Here, Professor Sturkey and I look specifically at the context of its creation — the politics of early 1900s Mississippi, the local individuals and organizations involved in its construction, and of course, the rhetoric of the Lost Cause. They say all politics is local, but the historical context of these monuments proves the opposite: this monument was part of a concerted effort across the South to glorify a past that never was.

The full article is available here. Thanks as always to the editors of the Pine Belt News for this partnership, and to all our readers.

Part 1 of the four-part series exploring the history of Hattiesburg’s Confederate monument and calling for its relocation is now up at the Pine Belt News. Grateful to my colleague William Sturkey and the editors at PBN for making this happen.

This weekend, as libraries still remain closed, I’m honored to join the virtual version of the Poetry Buffet with poets Nordette Adams, Michael Tod Edgerton, and Randolph Thomas, curated by Gina Ferrara. The reading starts as always at 2pm; more information and how to join via Zoom are available here.