FALL 2019 Chapter & Verse NEWSLETTER OF THE CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM AT UNC CHAPEL HILL
Tayari Jones was the 2019 Frank B. Frank B. Hanes Hanes Writer-in-Residence. As our own Writer-in Residence, Randall Kenan wrote, “She is best known for her fourth novel, An American Marriage Tayari Jones (2018). This tale of love, marriage, the United States justice system, and the travails of relationship, seized the hearts and imagination of a multitude of readers. This response was not simply because of Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement, but due to its artistry, unstinting realism, and compelling characters.”
continued on page 6
n October 2nd, 2018, the eve of Thomas Wolfe’s 118th Gillian Welch Obirthday, Gillian Welch was Awarded the awarded the Thomas Wolfe Medal, and — a first for the ceremony— sang her Wolfe Medal lecture. Moeser Auditorium was full, the audience entranced, and the night had a magical feel to it. Along with her partner, David Rawlings, she sang the songs that brought her here: “Revelator,” “Look at Miss Ohio,” “Orphan Girl,” and many, many others. Listening to them, her exquisite artistry as a songwriter and a storyteller was on grand display.
continued on page 6
2019–2020 Faculty and Alumni News, Prize-Winning Authors, and More! Chapter & Verse is published yearly by the Creative Writing Program. Daniel Wallace, Editor | UNC Chapel Hill | Greenlaw Hall, CB#3520 | Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3520 [email protected] | http://english.unc.edu/creative | PHONE 919.962.4000 | FAX 919.962.3520 Dear Friends,
hank you for were enthusiastically received. was our Frank B. Hanes Writer- your interest in Many of our 4th year students in-Residence, whose presence here and support of graduated with honors and would not have been possible without Creative went on to graduate schools, the support of Nancy White and Writing at pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts Robin Hanes. Through the course TCarolina. Our program degree. Gram-O-Rama, a skit of her week on campus, Tayari was a continues to flourish because class devoted to the comedy compelling speaker and reader. of our students, our former inherent in grammar, directed None of this would have been students, and many others who see with panache by Ross White, possible without an avid group of real value in committing ourselves continues to entertain students, steadfast advocates for literacy and to teaching the art of writing to faculty and university administrators. literature. None of it would be possible all comers. In the fall Gillian Welch received without Anita Braxton, our office This year almost seven hundred the Thomas Wolfe Medal, and, administrator, who continues to run students took one of the forty-eight along with her partner, David our program with the aplomb of the classes we offered in fiction, poetry, Rawlings, sang her beautiful songs seasoned professional she is. She and creative non-fiction. For the to a full house in Moeser Auditorium. never lets us see her sweat, and first time, we offered a Musical She’s the first lyricist ever to receive maybe she doesn’t. But all of us in the Writing track, and these classes the prize. In the spring, Tayari Jones Creative Writing Program know
Chapter & Verse • 2019-2020 • 2 what she does for us, and we know she is invaluable. We are fortunate to enjoy two Armfield Poetry Readings every year, made possible by the Armfield Fund for Poetry, a bequest to us from the late poet Blanche Britt Armfield (MA 1928). Our distinguished poets and readers for 2018 – 2019 were Aimee Nezhukumatathil and Rose McLarney. The Department of English, where we make our home, could not be more hospitable. I am certain there is no creative writing program in the country with a relationship better than the one we have with our department and its gracious leader, Mary Floyd- Wilson. She supports and sustains us; Jennifer Washington, who is the Business Officer for the English Department, does the same. Linda Interim Senior Associate Dean Nancy White and Robin Hanes Horne, Robin Samuels, Nelly for Fine Arts and Humanities have been our staunch allies for many Whitney, Tony Royle and Cheryl Elizabeth Engelhardt, and years; they continue to support the Siler-Jones all do their parts to keep Director of Communications Hanes Distinguished Visiting our program robust. Geneva Collins. Writer series, and for that we will be This is a note of thanks to all of you I want to recognize specific private forever grateful. Immense gratitude who attend our programs and shows, funds supporting Creative Writing also goes to John Skipper for his who support us financially, and who activities, including the Rankin avid and unwavering support of the read our books. But it’s a thank you Faculty Support Fund, established Thomas Wolfe Lecture. Thank especially to our students. Thank you by Alex Rankin (class of 1977); the you all. for continuing to have faith in us. I’m Burrus Fund, established by Ann often asked if current students are not Williams Burrus (class of 1952); and Daniel Wallace as engaged or literate as students of our Gift Fund, which is supported Director yore, before the digital world invaded and supplemented by so many of our the prairie-quiet, contemplative life friends and associates. The Walker of teenagers. The answer to that is Percy (class of 1937) Fund, an no. They are just as good as they ever endowment to help underwrite our were. And we’re glad they’re here. lecturers, was set in motion several Of course, we owe a debt to our years ago by Frank Borden Hanes, allies and counselors in South Sr. (class of 1942). And the Robert Building, particularly Interim Ruark Award, for student non- Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz, fiction writing about North Carolina’s Interim College of Arts & natural world, receives support from Sciences Dean Terry Rhodes, the Ruark Society of Chapel Hill.
Chapter & Verse • 2019-2020 • 3 CREATIVE WRITING AWARDS FOR 2018 Department of English and Comparative Literature
BLANCHE ARMFIELD PRIZE IN POETRY Marina Greenfeld
SUZANNE BOLCH LITERARY AWARD Olivia Nea
ROBERT B. HOUSE MEMORIAL PRIZE IN POETRY The following students graduated with Honors from the Jack Davis Creative Writing Program this past year. Beside their names are the titles of the works they completed in the year-long ROBERT RUARK SOCIETY Honors class. PRIZE IN NON-FICTION Olivia Neal Fiction Honors LOUIS D. RUBIN, JR., PRIZE IN Bland Simpson, Director CREATIVE WRITING Isabella Bonner Nothing But Space Waiting to Be Found Andrew Edmon King Marc Brunton Upper South BLAND SIMPSON PRIZE IN Bryant Lee Chappell What It Means to Smile CREATIVE NON-FICTION Maya Chari Eschatology for Dummies Emily Kian — 1st Place Adair Tompkins — 2nd Place Christian Hand Dancing Towards Default Andrew Edmon King Tell, Tell MAX STEELE PRIZE IN FICTION Kailey Morgan No Good Man & Other Stories Kailey Morgan Hayley Sigmon Katie Ann Otto Faultlines Robert Pierce Hometown Wilds GEORGE B. WYNNE AWARD Hayley Sigmon Junkyard Tales IN FICTION Kayla Rutledge Poetry Honors ANN WILLIAMS BURRUS PRIZE Michael McFee, Director Aisling Henihan Honorable Mention: Taylor Brunson Taylor Brunson Spine & Spike Jack Davis All This Light Hiding MINI-MAX SHORT-SHORT FICTION PRIZE Bethany Garrison Night Check Caroline Rose Porter — 1st place Ronald Harris Tend To Sofia Martinez— 2nd Place Aisling Henihan Sound Fruit Takhona Hlatshwako — 3rd Place Carter Hodge It’s All Down Hill Honorable Mentions: Christian Hand, Mariah Lindsey Gulf Kayla Delanie Rutledge and Alex Reinhart Oak Under Fire Kacey Thigpen Victoria Young Are You Blood
Chapter & Verse • 2019-2020 • 4 Faculty
News Gabrielle Calvocoressi
GABRIELLE CALVOCORESSI STEPHANIE ELIZONDO GRIEST published the poem Hammond B3 presented her book All the Agents and Organ Cistern in the November Saints around the country, including at M. Randal O’wain 19, 2018 issue of The New Yorker. the Brooklyn Book Festival, Texas Gaby also published poems in Tin Book Festival, Sanibel Island Writers House and became the Director of Conference, Rhodes College, University Michael Chitwood The Frost Place Conference on Poetry of San Diego, and College of the Holy (https://frostplace.org/programs/ Cross. She gave the culminating conference-on-poetry/), a weeklong keynote at the 2018 NonfictioNow poetry conference in New Hampshire Conference. Stephanie published an that welcomes poets of all levels. As essay in the anthology Mothers and Alan Shapiro Poetry Editor for Southern Cultures, Strangers and was commissioned to Gaby edited, along with undergrad write the 2019 Meridel Le Sueur Essay Marianne Gingher co-editor Marina Greenfeld, Bounty for the Water~Stone Review. The Everlasting, a chapbook celebrating Lannan Foundation awarded her a 25 years of poetry from the journal. month-long residency in Marfa, Texas.
MICHAEL CHITWOOD will be RANDALL KENAN is currently Bland Simpson the inaugural reader in the Larmore the Chancellor of the Fellowship Reading Series at Emory & Henry of Southern Writers. He was guest Stephanie Griest College in September. He has poems curator for two photo exhibits for the in the current or forthcoming issues Southbound collection at the Gregg of North American Review, Southern Museum of NCSU and the Power Plant woods Poetry Review, Poetry East, Prairie Gallery at Duke University’s American
Schooner, Birmingham Poetry Review Tobacco Campus. iman berkley and New Letters. He coordinates the Daniel Wallace
popular Tar Heel Verses in the Daily During the past year, MICHAEL miriam Tar Heel, spotlighting poetry written MCFEE has received two prizes: the Randall Kenan by students in the Program. Thomas and Lillie D. Chaffin Award for Appalachian Literature, presented by MARIANNE GINGHER published Morehead State University in March, two essays, “Groovy’s Hat” and “A and the North Carolina Award for Beautiful Mother,” in anthologies. She Literature, the state’s highest civilian Ross White and her collaborator wrote, designed, honor, presented by Governor Cooper and performed a new puppet play, “The in Raleigh last November. Michael McFee Poet’s Menagerie,” at the Greensboro Bound Literary Festival. The play is M. RANDAL O’WAIN’s short story based on Fred Chappell’s new book collection titled Hallelujah Station will (chiaro e scuro) have been portrayed of verse, As If It Were. She received be published Fall/2020 by Autumn culturally throughout written history. a Maker’s Space faculty grant to House. His memoir, Meander Belt, incorporate Maker’s Space technology was published in 2019, by the ALAN SHAPIRO’s new book, into a new First Year Seminar she University of Nebraska Press. Against Translation, was published will teach in fall 2019, “Writing for the He is currently at work on a book this past March. His poem “Encore” Puppet Stage.” about bioluminescence, a narrative has been selected for Best American investigation of how light and dark Poetry 2019.
Chapter & Verse • 2019-2020 • 5 BLAND SIMPSON co-hosted the Albemarle Sound Boat Tour (NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources); performed King Mackerel & The Blues Are Running in NYC and GA, and with Red Clay Ramblers at the Pat Conroy Literary Festival; gave inaugural Stabler Lecture for UNC’s Lineberger Center; performed at the Best of Our State; at Weymouth Center and the 25th Partnership for the Sounds Anniversary. Essays “Common Wall of Warmth” and “Island Time” in Our State and “The Last Word” in Mothers & Strangers. Launched Musical Writing Randall Kenan; Mary-Floyd I & II, producing student shows Candor continued from page 1 Wilson, Chair of the English in C and, with Gaby Calvocoressi, It’s Department; Tayari Jones; and a Great Day for a Flight. On University Her nearly weeklong visit was an Daniel Wallace, Director of the Day, Simpson received the Edward immense treat for our students, who Creative Writing Program Kidder Graham Award for UNC had an opportunity to speak with her Faculty Service. on a number of occasions. Tayari gave writers as she could in the time she freely of her time, was on two panels, had. Her talk, which centered on her DANIEL WALLACE’s essay, “Child and spent hours in classrooms and journey as a writer, was as Bride,” about his mother’s first marriage, one-on-one with as many young entertaining as it was instructive. was published in Mothers and Strangers, from UNC Press. His novel, Extraordinary Adventures, won Best Fiction of the Year from the Alabama Library Association. He also received the Harper Lee Award, awarded to a living Alabama writer in recognition of a lifelong contribution to the arts. His ping pong game continues to mature.
ROSS WHITE’s first full-length collection of poems, Charm Offensive, won Eyewear Publishing’s Sexton Poetry Prize for the best unpublished poetry collection by an American poet. A micro-chapbook, sin Wave, appeared from Rinky Dink Press in late 2018. New poems appear or are forthcoming in BOAAT, Indianapolis Review, Moon City Review, and others. He now serves continued from page 1 as the Associate Director of the Frost Place Conference on Poetry. October 2nd is the eve of Thomas Wolfe’s birthday, but it actually is Gillian Welch’s birthday. We celebrated it with a cake and a song.
Chapter & Verse • 2019-2020 • 6 In every issue of Chapter & Verse we include a piece by or about one of our alumae. This edition is a short reflection from Joanna Pearson (’02), whose most recent book is Every Human Love, a collection of stories.
any of that stuff, but you had to hold things that moved someone. This on to it all and just write! rarely happened, but they kept writing. ONCE These four learned to write badly. Much of their writing would embarrass And by this, I mean these four them now. These four were generous aspired to write well. But to write at all with one another, and encouraging. UPON is to write badly. One must write a lot, Every now and then, a stanza zinged. most of it bad, and keep going. One They read and wrote. They graduated. A TIME must slog. They grew up. They slogged merrily! It was fun! You can now find three of them Their teacher carried little notecards wandering Orange or Chatham in his pocket on which he scribbled, County. One of them is off living with nce upon a time, there words or phrases that caught his the wolves, or else maybe he married was a senior honors attention, poems to copy and bring an Italian princess and moved to her class comprised of only to share. He led the class kindly, villa — something like that. They four students: two were quick to notice bright spots in the realized quickly that outside of a Otall, one was small, and one had an students’ work, eager to lend a book, creative writing program, there is affinity for wolves. All together, they and gracious when that book was not no sheltered space for writing. No looked like a zany, slightly off-kilter quickly returned. one is waiting gang — the kind of gang you see in He responded to the for your poem, a musical, ready to doff their caps students’ work with ready to bestow and start snapping together in a well- a specific system of a checkmark or choreographed dance battle. They checkmarks versus a squiggle. And laughed a lot. They wore shirts layered squiggles. (They look at all the on top of other shirts because the aspired to earn a distractions — 90’s had only recently ended and this checkmark! A check deductibles, 1040 was cool. One had awesome tattoos. plus!) Sometimes, forms, a howling One moved through campus with there were readings child! The world the air of an Eastern mystic. One had and receptions for is changed and a love-hate relationship with free- fancy visiting writers, changed again. verse; one, with rhyme. They liked to and this made them Who could discuss, with passion, the well-placed feel inspired, imbued possibly write caesura. Tone, speaker, an off-rhyme. with a sense of poetry, or fiction?! Good acoustics — they loved that! Culture and Literary Writing, they — the way a line could reverberate Tradition. These understood, is a with meaning. At the start of their students applied thing you do in fall semester, airplanes flew into the for — and got — a the interstitial World Trade Center and the Pentagon grant to go to Merlefest together, time. You must do it for no other — both of which seemed so far away because poetry is music, and music is reason than the fact that, in certain from Chapel Hill, NC, but also not so singing, and singing is narrative, and rare moments, to have done so — to far away at all. The world was changed. narrative is lyric, and lyric is poetry. have written a thing that works! — Who could possibly write poetry, or People had been doing this kind of feels better and more satisfying than fiction?! But who could possiblynot thing a loooooong time. They were, anything else you can imagine. So write poetry or fiction?! In a way, these what, all of 21, 22-years-old? They’d someone keeps writing. Slog on! four figured, you had to forget all that better pay attention. stuff and justwrite ! In another way, They loved reading things that these four figured, you couldn’t forget moved them. They wanted to write
Chapter & Verse • 2019-2020 • 7 Alumni WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU News At Carolina, we realize writing is a pursuit that takes place over the course of a lifetime. We want to hear about it. If you have some news you’d like to share with your Carolina friends, family, and former teachers, please send it our CLASS OF 1977 CLASS OF 1988 way, at [email protected]. Whether you’re making books, making babies, or simply making a life, Warren Rochelle’s short story, Scott Martin is writing direct we’d love to hear from you. “Mirrors,” a gay-themed retelling of response copy for clients around the Beauty and the Beast, was accepted for world as he is also working on books 17, publication in the forthcoming Cuil 18 and 19. He is a part time ski CLASS OF 1997 Press queering romance anthology instructor and busy fighting off vixens. So You Think You Know Love? Richard Allen’s essay “Future CLASS OF 1992 Development” appeared on Slate.com last fall. “I Will Be There at 1 P.M.,” a CLASS OF 1978 Mark Sutton and co-editor, Sally work of multimedia creative nonfiction, Ann Cary Simpson, President of the Chandler, were published as part of the is forthcoming in At Length. NC Coastal Land Trust and UNC Press WAC Clearinghouse’s Perspectives author, presented the deed to 1,000 on Writing Series. The collection is CLASS OF 1998 acres of land along Salmon Creek in titled The Writing Studio Sampler: Bertie County (NCCLT’s Site X project) Stories about Change and is available Chris Barge is still working at to NC Natural & Cultural Resources online at The Writing Studio Sampler: Community Foundation Boulder Secretary Susi Hamilton in a ceremony Stories about Change — The WAC County in Colorado and is responsible at the mouth of Salmon Creek on Clearinghouse. for editing their biennial TRENDS Friday, March 15th, 2019. This property Report on the social, economic becomes the state’s newest natural CLASS OF 1996 and environmental health of our community. Chris is partnering with area, accessible to all in the relatively Jonathan Farmer recently their community radio station to near future, to be managed by NC State published a book of essays, That expand the print project into bilingual Parks for conservation, education, and Peculiar Affirmative: On the Social Life radio this fall. It’s part of a new recreation purposes. of Poems, and had a launch event in equity reporting initiative, aimed Chapel Hill alongside Alan Shapiro. CLASS OF 1980 at ensuring stories of their most vulnerable and marginalized residents Ben Fountain recently received the Dan Kois’s memoir How to Be a are heard, despite a shrinking local Carr P. Collins Award from the Texas Family will be published by Little, news landscape. Institute of Letters for his book Brown in September. In addition, he is Beautiful Country Burn Again: enjoying playing a lot of soccer. Laura Emerson’s first nonfiction Democracy, Rebellion, and Revolution work, The Delegates of 1849 — (Ecco/HarperCollins 2018), which Matthew Vollmer in the past Originators of California’s Reputation examines the 2016 U.S. presidential year has had stories in The Sun, The as a Bold and Independent State, will election. Beautiful Country is based on Normal School, Epoch, and Smoke Long be available through IngramSpark in a series of essays and reportage that Quarterly. Essays are forthcoming the coming weeks. he did for the Guardian over the course in Passages North and The Seneca of 2016; the series was subsequently Review. His latest book, Permanent Jennifer Young has moved to sunny nominated by the editors of the Exhibit, a collection of lyric essays, Cornwall with her 6-year-old daughter. Guardian for the Pulitzer Prize in was published by BOA Editions in She is the Head of Writing and Commentary. His more recent writing September, 2018. In July, 2019, he was Journalism at Falmouth University on U.S. politics has been published in the New Harmony Writer-in-Residence and she also judges for the inaugural The New York Review of Books, The at the University of Southern Illinois. Comedy Women in Print prize for Daily Beast, TomDispatch.com, and He is currently an Associate Professor funny women novelists. Her second (again) the Guardian, though his main at Virginia Tech. novel, The Running Lie, will be out in efforts these days are devoted toward a Spring 2020. novel that he hopes to bring out in 2021.
Chapter & Verse • 2019-2020 • 8 CLASS OF 1999 John Ikeda is a senior financial specialist at the World Bank, focusing on financial innovation in the water sector. He recently co-authored a publication on fintech for water available at:http:// documents.worldbank.org/curated/ en/387931552667416907/Fintech- for-the-Water-Sector-Advancing- Financial-Inclusion-for-More- Equitable-Access-to-Water
CLASS OF 2001 Kimberly O’Connor had a poem called “The History of My Silence” in the Fall 2018 Colorado Review and has another poem, “My American Childhood in Reverse,” forthcoming in Cagibi. CLASS OF 2006 CLASS OF 2007 Jared Fernley proudly welcomed his Kristy Woodson Harvey recently CLASS OF 2002 son, Mr. Charles Henry Fernley, into signed a deal with Gallery Books/ Joanna Pearson’s collection of short the world on May 18, 2019. Despite the Simon & Schuster for her sixth and stories, Every Human Love, came out in plot reversals, dramatic thunderstorm seventh novels, Feels Like Falling, May 2019 from Acre Books. and well-drawn characters related which is set to release April 28, 2020, as to his birth story, Young Charlie has well as an untitled 2021 release. The CLASS OF 2005 shown little literary inclination or books in her Peachtree Bluff Series— Lucy Bryan is a faculty member in prowess as of yet. But, it’s early. Slightly South of Simple, The Secret to the James Madison University Writing Southern Charm and The Southern Center. She and her husband Nate Melissa Sutton-Seng moved Side of Paradise —have been optioned welcomed their first child, Mads Todd back to North Carolina last year after for TV. Robert Malenke, into their family on several years in California, where July 3, 2018. Lucy also continues to she received dual Masters degrees in CLASS OF 2008 write and publish creative nonfiction. Intercultural Studies and Divinity, met Nate Dixon has finished an MA in Her article “Citizens Afield” (about her husband, and discovered a passion English at NC Central University volunteers helping with climate for sustainability. Stubbornly refusing and will enter the Ph.D. program in change research in Joshua Tree to select just one career path, Melissa is English at the University of Georgia, National Park) was the cover story for currently working as a freelance writer Athens, this fall. Earth Island Journal’s Summer 2018 and editor in Wilmington, speaking issue. Her essay “Island, Wilding” and teaching in religious settings Adam Edgerton’s big news this (about becoming a mother in a time of occasionally, and trying to convince year is that he has recently won a climate crisis) won Parks and Points’ her family, friends, and anyone else National Academy of Education/ Fall 2018 essay contest. Newfound who will listen to save the planet. Spencer Foundation Dissertation Journal published her essay “In the Fellowship, which is $27,500 awarded Woods” in its Spring 2019 issue. to the most promising doctoral students in the country.
Chapter & Verse • 2019-2020 • 9 Sean Honea was offered a great job CLASS OF 2012 CLASS OF 2014 opportunity with the VA Medical Center Annie Vitalsey (Josey) graduated Emily Palmer works as a crime and in Omaha, Nebraska as a full-time this spring with her MFA in fiction courts reporter for The New York Times. acupuncturist. As a veteran himself, he from Arizona State University. She will She has covered the trials of narco-lord is excited about the opportunity to be the 2019-2020 Olive B. O’Connor Joaquin Guzman Loera and con-artist treat this patient population. Fellow at Colgate University, where Anna “Delvey” Sorokin, who pretended she will teach creative writing and to be a German heiress in order to pursue CLASS OF 2009 work towards finishing her first novel. multi-million loans. Over the course of Travis Smith now works at those trials, Emily conducted exclusive Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. He CLASS OF 2013 interviews with Chapo’s wife, Emma recently published his poem The Pat Robinson has been teaching Coronel Aispuro, and went to Rikers Water Theater in Harper’s: https:// theatre at a high school in Canarsie, Island for a series of jailhouse harpers.org/archive/2019/01/the- which most recently performed interviews with Anna. Recent reporting water-theater-travis-smith/ and “Macbeth.” He has also had several has taken her to Durango, Mexico, where published a chapbook in 2016 with of his originals performed at the she is researching a potential book. Ninepin Press, Amherst, MA: http:// renowned Dixon Place in NYC, ninepinpress.com/zodiac-b. including “Pigeon Spikes,” “Sleepy Cary Bland Simpson (Columbia Eyed Kids,” and his latest “Vox” in University MFA ’18) is Development CLASS OF 2010 May 2019. Manager for the New York City theatre Delaney Nolan is currently living non-profit Only Make Believe, which in Brussels, where she is a freelance Taylor Hartley published her debut employs professional actors to create copywriter. Last summer, she taught novel She’s Powerful Trouble with shows for and with young patients creative writing at a summer camp as publisher The Parliament House on in some forty-five NYC metro area a Fulbright Specialist in Moscow for May 28, 2019. hospitals. www.onlymakebelieve.org RANEPA University. In February she was a writer-in-residence at Yaddo. She Allen Tedder was in the Juilliard CLASS OF 2016 is at work on a novel. MFA acting program in NYC and is Mason Boyles is entering his third currently playing guitar in the hit year of the MFA program at UC Irvine, Sarah Smith is a literary agent at the Broadway adaptation of “To Kill a revising the draft of a novel that he David Black Literary Agency in Booklyn, Mockingbird.” He is the 2019 recipient intends to submit as his thesis. His representing mostly non-fiction clients. of New York Carolina Club’s Young recent fiction has been published She recently went with fellow Creative Alumnus Award. in magazines such as New Guard, Writing alum Sally Symons to see the Baltimore Review, the Wisconsin Professor Daniel Wallace launch his Review, Flying South, and Black Dandy. new novel in Brooklyn with Elizabeth Strout. It was a great opportunity Heather Wilson is a communications to celebrate his work. specialist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. When not teaching School of Medicine professors the difference between a “twitter” and a “like,” she spends her time doing comedy in the Triangle. She is also working on a potentially slush-pile-worthy novel about robots, siblings, progress and paranoia.
Chapter & Verse • 2019-2020 • 10 CLASS OF 2017 Sophie Shaw has been working CLASS OF 2019 Maddie Norris, previously the with two high schools in Dare County Andrew King (Highest Honors, Thomas Wolfe Scholar at Chapel Hill, (Outer Banks) through the Carolina Senior Honors Fiction) started a is an MFA candidate at the University College Advising Corps, helping position at Tor Books , a division of Arizona in creative nonfiction. She students and parents research careers of Macmillan Publishers, in August. was nominated for an AWP intro award and colleges, apply for scholarships Tor is the world’s most successful and is the recipient of Ninth Letter’s and financial aid, and make good science fiction and fantasy publisher, Literary Award in Creative Nonfiction. decisions about college. She plans to winner of the Locus Award for Her recent work can be found in apply for MFA programs in fiction in Best Science Fiction Publisher for Essay Daily and is forthcoming from the winter. 25 consecutive years. https://us. Territory and Ninth Letter. macmillan.com/torforge/
Hayley Sigmon has joined the MFA Writing Program at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
Chapter & Verse • 2019-2020 • 11 Creative Writing Program Department of English and Comparative Literature Greenlaw Hall CB 3520 UNC-Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3520
A hundred years ago borrowing his melody from our Bell remarkable songwriting career that Tower chimes. has brought Gillian Welch and this fall, Frederick Koch first taught When he lived in New York City her longtime collaborator David playwriting in our Department of in the 1920s and ’30s. Thomas Wolfe Rawlings both popular success and English, and thus began modern attended many musical plays and critical acclaim. Gillian’s and David’s imaginative writing at Carolina. revues, and his works are filled not deeply American musical art has One of Proff Koch’s first students only with a powerful musicality, already joined the best of the best in was Thomas Wolfe, who found his but also with many song titles and our nation’s broad, complex library of great voice in some of the most song lyrics of the day. Wolfe would popular song, and their words have powerful literary prose we know. have be mightily pleased with what found the way into our hearts and Wolfe loved music—in Look Homeward we are about here tonight minds, and, I daresay, our souls. Angel, he translated his real sister into We honor, as out Thomas Wolfe a fictional member of a musical duo, Prize awardee, a writer whose art is the —Bland Simpson, Introduction of the Dixie Melody Twins, and he even composition of lyrics and melodies. Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Hill wrote a song for his fictional father, We celebrate the highly literary and Hall, UNC, October 2, 2018 W. O. Grant, to sing as he sloshed musical values embodied in the gasoline into the raging hearth,