MSU English professor, Mississippi鈥檚 Poet Laureate participating in virtual Mississippi Book Festival
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥旂哿κ悠 Professor of English Catherine Pierce is participating virtually Tuesday [Oct. 12] in the seventh annual Mississippi Book Festival, her first as the Magnolia State鈥檚 Poet Laureate.
The festival was originally slated to take place in August at the Mississippi Capitol. A resurgence in COVID-19 cases prompted organizers to adapt the event to a virtual format, which will give participants free access to 31 recorded panel discussions featuring more than 110 of the state鈥檚 top literary minds.
Pierce, co-director of MSU鈥檚 creative writing program, will participate in the poetry panel 鈥淩esonant Verse,鈥 alongside fellow poets Richard Boada, Sandra Beasley, Ashley M. Jones, Adam Clay and moderator Derrick Harriell.
For complete details on the virtual Mississippi Book Festival, visit .
鈥淚 can鈥檛 think of a better or more exciting way to kick off my time as Mississippi Poet Laureate than by being part of the Mississippi Book Festival,鈥 Pierce said. 鈥淭he organizers have done such a great job transitioning this year鈥檚 fest to an online format, and it鈥檚 always a thrill to spend some concentrated time immersed in the rich literary talent of our state and region. I can鈥檛 wait to watch these panels.鈥
A native of Delaware, Pierce has authored four books of poetry鈥斺淒anger Days鈥 (2020), 鈥淭he Tornado Is the World鈥 (2016), 鈥淭he Girls of Peculiar鈥 (2012) and 鈥淔amous Last Words鈥 (2008), winner of the Saturnalia Books Poetry Prize. Each of her last three books has received the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Poetry Prize.
Pierce is a two-time Pushcart Prize winner and the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mississippi Arts Commission. Her work has appeared in The Best American Poetry, The New York Times, American Poetry Review, The Nation, The Southern Review, and the Academy of American Poets鈥 Poem-a-Day series, among others.
For more on MSU鈥檚 Department of English and its creative writing program, visit .
MSU is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .