Canadian poet grants Center for Poetry endowment

by Kelsey Block Last week, the RCAH Center for Poetry was proud to host Canadian-born poet George Ellenbogen. Ellenbogen celebrated a $50,000 endowment established in his name along with his late partner, Evelyn Shakir, and Center for Poetry director Anita Skeen. Ellenbogen said he first decided to gift the Center for Poetry with an endowment

Storyteller weaves tales at Poetry Center

By Kelsey Block Michigan storyteller, musician and educator Robin Nott visited the RCAH Center for Poetry last week as the first guest of the 2014 Fall Writing Series. The 64-year-old said he first became interested in storytelling as a child at camp, but didn’t explore it in depth until he saw Storyteller Donald Davis speak

Book Sale Success

Last Thursday, the RCAH Center for Poetry hosted its annual book sale. We would like to say a very big “thank you” to all of the folks who stopped by and supported the Center. We were lucky enough to raise more than $1,400, which will go toward our programming. Your support is much-appreciated, and we

Memoirist Jane Congdon in conversation with RCAH community

By Kelsey Block “It’s a shared experience,” Memoirist Jane Congdon mentioned during her visit to the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities last week. “I’ve been a visiting writer before, but I’ve never been an artist in conversation.” The RCAH welcomed Congdon back in November 2011 to discuss her first memoir entitled, It Started

Virginia poet laureate visits RCAH

By Kelsey Block “What I like most is following the words, following their sounds. A poem for me always starts as a phrase, a couple of words I hear together that just intrigue me,” Sofia Starnes, the poet laureate of Virginia, said. “Where will this word take me? It might open up a memory, something

“Watchers: A Journey To Alberta” by Jenny Crakes wins the 2014 Balocating Prize for Poetry

Congratulations to Jenny Crakes, a Junior in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities and Professional Writing at Michigan State University. Crakes won the Center for Poetry’s 2014 Annie Balocating Prize for Poetry for her poem, “Watchers: A Journey To Alberta.” The judge for the 2014 Balocating Prize was Virginia Poet Laureate Sofia M.

Center for Poetry intern wins poetry prize

By Kelsey Block Visiting writer Sofia Starnes, the poet laureate of Virginia, announced at her reading last night that RCAH Center for Poetry intern Jenny Crakes won this year’s Annie Balocating Poetry Prize. Crakes said she was both surprised and excited to have won the $500 award. “The poem was about a road trip that

Sofia Starnes and Anita Skeen on WKAR 90.5’s Current State

Sofia Starnes and Anita Skeen on WKAR 90.5’s Current State Each year, in honor of National Poetry Month in April, the RCAH Center for Poetry brings a series of poets to campus to conduct readings and workshops with the public. Current State spoke with Center for Poetry Director Anita Skeen and Virginia Poet Laureate Sofia M. Starnes about this year’s festival,

Poem of the Week: “Nightlife” by Sofia M. Starnes

The moon dissolves in mist and flower; the window balances the outside dark against a single lamp— and underneath, a rose. Some nights, I know three things: the being rush, bone sequence, hide and blood, bliss of these rudiments, from them to make a life. And then, some slower things: the being wait, a portal, mouthful, ache;

Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey visits the RCAH Center for Poetry

National Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey (left) kicked off our Spring 2014 Poetry Festival with a reading on Wednesday, April 2. On the second day of her visit, Poetry Center Director Anita Skeen facilitated a Q&A session at the MSU Main Library. Check out our Facebook and Flickr for more about Natasha’s visit! Photo by Linnea