From the crunch of typewriter keys to the clattering of a computer keyboard, the creative writing program at Mississippi State University has had students typing away for four decades. A celebration of 40 years of creative writing at MSU will take place Tuesday, April 2 in Harrison Auditorium of Giles Hall at 7:30 p.m. with readings and discussions from four faculty members, poets and fiction writers: assistant professors of English and co-directors of creative writing Michael Kardos and Catherine Pierce, assistant professor of English Becky Hagenston and professor of English Richard Lyons.
Kardos said the faculty members will read from their most current work as well as projects under construction.
“The four members of the creative writing faculty will each be reading briefly from their recent work and discussing their work in progress,” he said. “At the end of the reading, there will be a brief Q&A, followed by a book signing.”
Kardos said the readings, discussion and book signing not only celebrate the history of the creative writing program but also commemorate two influential former faculty members.
“The event is being held to celebrate 40 years of creative writing at MSU, and also to honor two former faculty members: Price Caldwell, who founded the creative writing program, and Gary Myers, creative writing faculty member from 1989 until his retirement last year,” he said.
Each writer’s work has been lauded, picking up numerous awards and shining reviews. According to promotion for Tuesday’s reading, Sherman Alexie said of Catherine Pierce’s 2012 poetry collection “The Girls of Peculiar,” “Read these poems and you will remember how to burn.”
Antonya Nelson described Becky Hagenston’s 2010 short story collection “Strange Weather” as “Curious, clever, quick, hilarious and heartbreaking.”
David Wojahn claimed Richard Lyons’s 2006 collection of poems “Fleur Carnivore” to be “like the solos of the jazz greats…Lyons’s poems are exploratory, nervy, emotionally rich.” Author Tom Franklin said of Michael Kardos’ first novel, 2012’s “The Three-Day Affair,” “Read a page or two and then put it down. It can’t be done.”
As professors busy with both teaching and writing, Pierce said the communal nature of the reading will provide an opportunity for the faculty members to catch up on each others’ most current work.
“The four members of the creative writing faculty have given readings individually, usually when a new book comes out, but we’ve never all read together,” she said. “I’m looking forward to getting a sneak peek into what everyone else is working on.”
Kardos said MSU’s creative writing program produces many students who go on to publish fiction and poetry, but the value of the program lies in the fact that all its graduates learn skills beneficial regardless of their eventual career path.
“Some of our students, particularly your graduate students, go on to publish their own poetry and fiction,” he said. “But all of our students gain experience in the art of literary creation – that is, learning to express their creative ideas and close observations, and these are skills that benefit students no matter what they end up doing after graduation.”