laurel blossom gate photograph

In Memoriam
     Linda Corrente (1953-1999)
     Jason Shinder (1955-2008)
     Starkey Flythe Jr. (1935-2013)
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POET LAUREATE OF EDGEFIELD: On Monday, March 2, 2015, the Town Council of Edgefield, South Carolina, voted to create the position of Poet Laureate of Edgefield, an honorary post lasting a renewable two years. I was proud to be appointed the first occupant of this new post. In October, 2017, Dr. DREW LANHAM, professor of wildlife at Clemson University, was named Poet Laureate of Edgefield for the term 2017-2019. Dr. Lanham holds an endowed chair as an Alumni Distinguished Professor and was named an Alumni Master Teacher in 2012. His research focuses on songbird ecology, as well as the African-American role in natural-resources conservation. A native of Edgefield County, Dr. Lanham is also an author and award-nominated poet; his first solo work, The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature, published in 2016.

My latest book-length narrative prose poem, Longevity, launched in October, 2015! A review in Per Contra in Spring 2016 calls Longevity "a stunner, one of the important book-length poems of the 21st century." Go to the Poetry tab above and click on Longevity for complete information. Go to Four Way Books to buy!!

NOTABLE BOOK OF POETRY 2015: The Papers Said has been named a Notable Book of Poetry 2015 by Shelf Unbound, the terrific and beautiful online indie press review journal started by Margaret Brown and continuing under the stewardship of her niece, Sarah Kloth. Check it out here. Order The Papers Said from Small Press Distribution.

Order a copy of Degrees of Latitude from Four Way Books. It's been called "the first page-turner poem"! Read an excerpt, "The North Pole."

Read the profile of Four Way Books on The New York Times Arts Beat blog. The profile quotes several lines from Degrees of Latitude. In addition, publisher Martha Rhodes says that my forthcoming book, Longevity, is on her list of favorite upcoming publications!

A Sense of the Midlands: Work by Laurel Blossom and other South Carolina poets concerning the mid-section of the state, edited by Cindi Boiter and Ed Madden. Available through Amazon or through Muddy Ford Press.

Found Anew: new writing inspired by the South Caroliniana Library Digital Collection. Poetry and prose inspired by and paired with historical photos from the Caroliniana Library, edited by R. Mac Jones and Ed Madden.

After Shocks: The Poetry of Recovery! Includes an excerpt form Degrees of Latitude and many other fine poems by Martha Collins, Carol Ann Duffy, Thomas Lux, Donald Hall, Marjorie Wentworth, Annie Finch, Anna Rabinowitz, Dennis Ward Stiles, Barbara Presnell, Susan Meyers, Rita Dove, Kate Gale, Ed Madden, and others. 115 Poets from 15 Nations. Edited by Tom Lombardo. Order from Sante Lucia Books, www.poetryofrecovery.com.

The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume I: South Carolina is available from Texas Review Press. Yours truly and many others, including Linda Lee Harper and Starkey Flythe, Jr., are included.

Enjoy poems from my earlier books and latest publications under the Poetry tab above or by clicking here.

Thank you for visiting. Come again!