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

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;

Looking Foward: Poets Laureate and The Spring Poetry Series

by Laurie Hollinger The RCAH Center for Poetry will be celebrating Poets Laureate in Spring 2014, with a visit by United States Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey on April 2, and Virginia Poet Laureate Sofia Starnes on April 16. A third visiting Poet Laureate has yet to be confirmed, but will be announced soon. It is