Event Type
As a poetry festival situated in the cultural capital of the Gulf South, the New Orleans Poetry Festival serves as a meeting ground for poets and critics from across this region at the same time as it showcases these writers to the rest of the country and the world. NOPF 2023 offers the first entry in what we hope to be a new series, this talk on Gulf South Poetics, exploring recent trends in a specific Gulf South region or state. This talk will focus on Mississippi, which has seen a resurgence of national-level poetic work appearing in the last decade. Contextualizing this work and offering a detailed overview of the concerns, themes, styles, and politics that currently occupy the attention of Mississippi-based poets, this lecture will discuss the poetry of Natasha Trethewey, Beth Ann Fennelly, Adam Clay, Derrick Harriell, Aimee Nezukumatathil, Joshua Nguyen, Catherine Pierce, Melissa Ginsburg, and more, with a full bibliography provided. Benjamin Morris will deliver the talk, approximately 30 minutes, and CT Salazar will serve as respondent, followed by an audience discussion.