Award-winning poet and novelist Judson Mitcham will talk about the art of writing poetry and fiction and also read excerpts from his work at Brenau University’s Trustee Library on Monday, March 23, at 3 p.m.
The event – the first public gathering to showcase the newly renovated “thought zone” of the library with its wall-of-windows exterior view – is free and open to the public. Teatime refreshments will be served.
“We thought it would be pleasant to have an afternoon tea with the poet laureate,” said Brenau Library Services Dean Marlene Giguere. “It will be a very informal occasion. If you want to sit on the floor or wander around and look at books or the art work in the area, that is perfectly fine. But mostly you will be able to interact with Mr. Mitcham – one of the great writers of our region.”
The Walton County native, ironically, did not begin his career as a writer. In something of a parallel to the career of Georgia physician-turned-novelist Ferrol Sams, Mitcham studied psychology at the University of Georgia, where he earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees. He received his Ph.D. in 1974. From then he taught in the psychology department at Fort Valley State University until his retirement with the rank of associate professor in 2004. Since 2002, he has taught creative writing workshops at the University of Georgia, Emory University and Mercer University.
Mitcham’s poetry with its real-world Southern imagery has appeared in the Chattahoochee Review, Harper’s, Georgia Review, Gettysburg Review, Hudson Review, Poetry, Southern Poetry Review and Southern Review. His first poetry collection, Somewhere in Ecclesiastes, earned him both the Devins Award and recognition as Georgia Author of the Year, an honor bestowed annually by the Georgia Writers Association. His other collections of poetry include This April Day and A Little Salvation: Poems Old and New.
Mitcham also wrote two novels The Sweet Everlasting and Sabbath Creek, both of which won the Townsend Prize for Fiction, making Mitcham the first writer to receive the award twice.
“Judson’s work resonates deeply with the humanity, humor, respect and grace that living through our past and into our future requires,” said Karen Paty, director of the Georgia Council for the Arts. “We are lucky to have him serve as the Poet Laureate of Georgia and champion for the literary arts in our state.”
In 2014, Mitcham and the Georgia Council for the Arts debuted the Poet Laureate’s Prize to be awarded for an original poem written by a state high school student. “An involvement in reading and creating poems can enrich any life,” Mitcham told Atlanta Magazine in an interview about the award’s importance as encouragement for artistic expression by young writers. “It may be especially important for young people developing skills that can guide them toward understanding themselves and the world.”
In 2012 Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal named him the state’s 10th official poet laureate, and in 2013 Mitcham was inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.
He resides in Macon, Georgia, with his wife, Jean. They are the parents of two grown children and they have three grandchildren.
For more information about the poetry reading at the Trustee Library, you may contact areeger-cook@brenau.edu or call 770-534-6160.