4/1/2015 Acclaimed Pa. poet to serve as MSU writer­in­residence (Mississippi State University)

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Terrance HayesPhoto by: submitted

Office of Public AffairsNews Bureau (662) 325­3442Contact: Karyn BrownFebruary 05, 2015

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Acclaimed Pa. poet to serve as MSU writer­in­residence

STARKVILLE, Miss.­­National award­winningpoet Terrance Hayes visits Mississippi Statenext week [Feb. 9­13] as the writer­in­residencewith the College of Arts and Sciences' Institutefor the Humanities.

A University of Pittsburgh English professor, heis a winner of the MacArthur Fellowship, as wellas the Whiting Writers Award and NationalEndowment for the Arts, United States ArtistsZell and Guggenheim fellowships.

Hayes will read from his poetry during a 7 p.m.Tuesday [Feb. 10] program. Taking place in inMcCool Hall's Taylor Auditorium, the event isfree and open to all.

He is the author of five books of poetry,including "Lighthead," winner of a 2010 NationalBook Award.

4/1/2015 Acclaimed Pa. poet to serve as MSU writer­in­residence (Mississippi State University)

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A graduate of Pittsburgh and Coker College inhis native South Carolina, Hayes also was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and his works aretwo­time selections for the Pushcart Prize anthology and have appeared in seven editions of "The Best AmericanPoetry." Other honored works include "Wind in a Box; Hip Logic," winner of the National Poetry Series, and"Muscular Music," winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award.

His latest release, "How to Be Drawn," is scheduled for publication later this year. For more biographicalinformation, visit www.writing.pitt.edu/people/faculty/terrance­hayes.

While at MSU, Hayes will hold office hours, meet with a creative writing class and be part of an informal discussionwith students in the African American Studies program.

"Terrance Hayes is one of the most innovative, engaging and critically acclaimed poets writing today," saidassociate professor Catherine Pierce of MSU's English department.

Pierce, who directs the department's creative writing program, said Hayes' "sharp, formally inventive, sometimesfunny, always powerful poems touch on everything from family to race to pop culture to history, and hearing himread his work is a thrill."

William Anthony Hay, Institute for the Humanities director, said the writer­in­residence program is beginning itssecond year. It and related initiatives were created to provide MSU students with additional opportunities to learnfrom leading figures in their respective fields, the associate professor of history added.

He said public events like Hayes' poetry reading also enable the institute to "reach out to the wider campus" andprovide another way of "highlighting Mississippi State's engagement with the humanities."

For more information about Hayes' visit, contact the institute at whay@history.msstate.edu. The institute's website iswww.ih.msstate.edu.

The College of Arts and Sciences is MSU's largest academic unit and is found online at www.cas.msstate.edu. Foradditional information on the college, humanities institute, English department or other entities, contactcommunication director Karyn Brown at 662­325­7952 or kbrown@deanas.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi's flagship research university and is found at www.msstate.edu, facebook.com/msstate,instagram.com/msstate and twitter.com/msstate.