The River City Writers welcome award winning poet and professor Mark Jarman to The University of Memphis tonight.
Jarman, an English professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, has made several tours promoting his most recent book of poetry, "To the Green Man." For the River City Writers, and the English department at The U of M, Jarman's appearance could not be more welcome.
"I had seen him read at the Southern Festival of Books last year and was very impressed," said John Bensko, the faculty director of the River City Writers Series.
Although Bensko had not seen Jarman until last year, he had known of his poetry and his reputation within the writing field.
Bensko cited the literary journal "The Reaper" as the catalyst for his interest in Jarman.
Jarman co-founded "The Reaper" during the 1980s with Robert McDowell, with whom he also edited and published the magazine.
Nearly 30 years have passed since Jarman published the first of his eight books of poetry, "North Sea" in 1978. He has gone on to win numerous awards for his poetic voice, such as the prestigious Poet's Prize in 1991 for his book "The Black Riviera," as well as a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation from 1991-1992.
After all of the accolades, one thing about Jarman remains clear - he still loves to write.
"I have a daily habit of writing in the morning and in the evening," Jarman said. "I start on things in the evening, and revise them in the morning."
The River City Writers hope that Jarman's habitual way of writing as well as his passion for the craft will translate well this week.
"It's important for visiting writers to come to the campus," Bensko said.
The River City Writers, as well as students, experience some sort of happy anxiety when an accomplished author pays The U of M a visit, according to Bensko.
Students will have the opportunity to have their own work critiqued by Jarman during a workshop on Thursday. The workshops, Bensko said, are a high point of an author's visit.
"This allows our students to see a wide variety of authors with different ideas of writing and ways of writing," Bensko said.
Another reason The River City Writers took a shine to Jarman is because of his ability to connect with students. Jarman teaches his students at Vanderbilt, as well as students he meets during promotional tours, not to wait for inspiration to come.
"I teach my students the craft of an art," Jarman said.
"You never finish learning the craft of poetry writing; it requires patient attention and practice."
Much of Jarman's craft focuses on the sometimes-taboo subject of faith. Jarman has written poems that stray from that subject matter, but he tends to feel most comfortable in that arena.
"These are things that formed who I am, and yet they also give me a sense of how others think and feel. I have some faith that I am not speaking only for myself," Jarman said.
Discover if Jarman speaks for you as well tonight at 8 at the Faulkner lounge in the UC. Thursday Jarman will be interviewed at 11:30 a.m. in Patterson Room 456, and conducting a workshop at 3 p.m. in Patterson Room 403.
All events are free and open to the public.
