Event Type
This roundtable will explore the life and legacy of the poet Frank Stanford (1948-1978). Drawing on the unique expertise of each panelist, it will do so through several perspectives. James McWilliams, author of the first Frank Stanford biography (due out in the summer of 2025 with the University of Arkansas Press), will survey Stanford's early upbringing in Greenville, Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; Snow Lake, Arkansas; Mountain Home, Arkansas; and Subiaco, Arkansas. A. P. Walton, whose edited collection of Stanford's letters is also forthcoming from the University of Arkansas Press, will examine not only the intricate and deeply personal nature of Stanford's copious correspondence, but also how Stanford crafted those letters into a form of art that complemented his poems as he moved across various geographies in northwest Arkansas (Fayetteville, Rogers, Eureka Springs, Busch) and relationships. Poet Canese Jarboe will explore Stanford's poetics, giving special consideration to the rural and backcountry registers in Stanford's work, as well as the ongoing interplay between death and sexuality that animates so much of his poetry. Aidan Ryan, whose Foundlings Press has long promoted Stanford, will discuss the challenges involved in introducing a long neglected/overlooked poet to a larger audience of readers. As a filmmaker, Ryan can also comment on the cinematic nature of Stanford's writing. Finally, as poets who knew Stanford personally, Bill Willett and Ralph Adamo are in a unique position to discern the mythical Stanford from the actual Stanford, noting how Stanford negotiated his identity to craft a life that was dramatic, heroic, prolific, brilliant, and tragic.
