Category Archives: Interviews

Two Poets and a Bassist

On Nov. 15, the Creative Writing Program at Miami University hosted Two Poets and A Bassist, featuring Janice Lowe, Yohann Potico, and Tyehimba Jess. This performance follows the previous day’s panel, Collaborating Across the Arts: A Discussion.

Professor Keith Tuma kicked off the event recalling his time with Lowe’s Leaving CLE: Poems of Nomadic Dispersal, which was published this year by the Miami University Press.

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Poets and Musicians Discuss Collaboration, Creation

On Monday, November 14, the Humanities Center, Creative Writing Program, and Miami University Press sponsored the panel “Collaborating Across the Arts: A Conversation” featuring Miami University Press poet and musician Janice Lowe, acclaimed poet Tyehimba Jess, and musician Yohann Potico. They spoke about the importance of respect in collaboration, their creative processes, and their current projects to a rapt audience.

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Needing the Form to Feel Free: Kathryn Davis on Creativity

Kathryn

On Monday, February 23, the Humanities Center and the Creative Writing Program hosted celebrated author Kathryn Davis along with Miami faculty members Dr. Cathy Wagner and Professor Margaret Luongo for a panel entitled “How to Make a World: Writers on Creativity.” Dr. Timothy Melley, director of the Miami University Humanities Center, introduced the panel, which is the second installment in this year’s Humanities series. In honor of Miami University President David Hodge’s declaration of the 2015-2016 academic year as The Year of Creativity and Innovation, each event will focus on creativity.

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Spotlight on erica lewis

Lewis

I stopped erica lewis (author of multiple books, curator of the John Oates House reading series, and a fine arts publicist who will visit Miami this Wednesday) with some questions about her process, recommendations, and life soundtrack. (Read Lewis’s daryl hall is my boyfriend (2015), murmur in the inventory (2013), and new poems from the forthcoming mary wants to be a superwoman.) Continue reading

Get It In Your Body: Alumni Open Up at Leonard Theater Talk

Three graduates of Miami’s Poetry MA program—alumni Darren Demaree, Daisy Levy, and Chris Michel—visited the Leonard Theater in Peabody Hall on Tuesday to participate in a roundtable discussion. Each took radically different paths after their MA program, leading to a richly diverse conversation connected by the transference of that passion. They explained how their experience here influenced their present literary identity, with special relation to the talk’s subjects: poetry, translation, journalism, and rhetoric. Continue reading

Alum Tom Dever Talks Screenplay-writing on a Shoestring in First Event of Year

Tom Dever - Rocaberti Castle Writers' Retreat

On Thursday, September 15, nearly every seat of the Bachelor Reading room was eagerly filled to hear the insights of a recent Miami grad. Tom Dever earned his BA in Creative Writing here in Oxford before moving to California in pursuit of his MFA from the University of California and launching a successful career in the film industry. He walked up to the podium with a smile, sharing his excitement to be back on campus. Continue reading

Antiwar, Feminist, Environmentalist, Cat Lady: Marge Piercy Visits MU

marge piercy Friday, April 15, respected novelist, poet, and memoirist Marge Piercy filled theauditorium in McGuffey Hall with her commanding presence. Piercy is the author ofseventeen novels including the New York Times Bestseller Gone to Soldiers, nineteencollections of poetry, and most recently a critically-acclaimed memoir entitled Sleeping with Cats. To an audience of all ages, Piercy read a series of her poetry encompassing social commentary, family relationships, cats, and sex Continue reading

Art Overlapping: An Interview With Bethany Pierce

First year Creative Writing M.A. student Erin Jamieson interviews Miami alum Bethany Pierce on her life as a writer, her time at Miami, and how her art has inspired her writing:

in Mount Vernon, Ohio, Bethany Pierce graduated with a BA in Art and an MA in Creative Writing from Miami University in 2006. Her novels, Feeling for Bones and Amy Inspired (Bethany House) have garnered critical acclaim, with her debut listed by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the top books of 2007. Also known for her paintings, Bethany currently resides in Asheville, North Carolina. For more, visit her website at www.bethanypierce.com. Continue reading