MARK yOUR CALENDAR Bathanti to Deliver Annual Distinguished Belk Lecture Joseph Bathanti July 11, 3:30 pm, Belk Library, Room 114 Joseph Bathanti, North Carolina’s Poet Laureate and a creative writing professor at Appalachian, will deliver the 2013 Belk Distinguished Lecture. Bathanti was installed in September 2012 during a ceremony at the State Capitol in Raleigh. A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., he came to the state in 1976 as a member of Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA). He was part of the N.C. Visiting Artist Program for four years and wrote a book about the program, ey Changed the State: e Legacy of North Carolina’s Visiting Artists 1971-1995 when the program celebrated its 25th anniversary. Bathanti has published numerous books of poetry, two novels, and a book of short stories. He has received a number of prestigious awards including the 2012 Ragan-Rubin award, presented to an outstanding North Carolina writer; the 2006 Novello Literary Award; and the 2002 Sherwood Anderson Award. “His award-winning body of work is a powerful mix of old forms and new forms which has gained national and international recognition, and which adds up to a rich interpretation of modern American life,” said Randall Kenan, associate professor of English at UNC-Chapel Hill and chair of the poet laureate selection committee. Kenan was the 2011 Belk Distinguished Lecturer at Appalachian. “e North Carolina Poet Laureate is one of the state’s longest running and most important ways that we celebrate and share our state literary heritage with citizens,” said Wayne Martin, executive director of the N.C. Arts Council. “Joseph’s work is accessible because he writes about topics that touch all of us: family, home and personal experiences.” 12
Summer Author Series Elizabeth Hudson, editor of Our State magazine, and North Carolina novelist Jill McCorkle will participate in the library’s Summer Author Series this year.
Elizabeth Hudson June 6, 3:30 pm, Belk Library, Room 421 A lifelong resident of North Carolina, Hudson began her publishing career at Our State in 1997, answering telephones in the circulation department. She held various positions in the editorial department before being named editor in 2009. Under her leadership, the publication won a Gold Eddie for “Best Full Issue” from FOLIO, the magazine industry’s leading publication. She studied English and environmental studies at UNC Greensboro.
Jill McCorkle August 15, 3:30 pm, Belk Library, Room 421 A Lumberton native, McCorkle earned degrees at UNC-Chapel Hill and Hollins University. At UNC, she studied with Lee Smith, Louis Rubin, and Max Steele. Other books she has written include Going Away Shoes, Creatures of Habit, Carolina Moon, and Crash Diets. McCorkle has published five novels and three collections of short stories, and has the distinction of having her first two novels published on the same day in 1984. e New York Times Book Review said, “One suspects the author of e Cheer Leader is a born novelist; with July 7th, she is also a full grown one.” Her latest novel, Life aer Life, was published in March.