North Carolina poet Emilia Phillips gives a reading and a seminar as part of the Poetry Society of South Carolina’s (PSSC) February program, held on Feb. 9-10 at the Charleston Library Society.
On Friday night, Phillips will read selections from her work at 7 p.m. Local poet Angela Pilson, a second year MFA student at the College of Charleston, will open with selections of her poetry, which has appeared in the North American Review. The reading is open to the public and will be followed by a free reception.
On Saturday, Phillips presents “I Am Trying to Be Marvelous: The Poetics of Body Positivity,” a seminar inspired by Chen Chen’s “Winter,” a poem celebrating the human body. “In this course, we will examine the poetries that have arisen alongside the body positivity movement, paying special attention to poets of color, poets with disabilities, female poets, and LGBTQ+ poets,” says Phillips in a press release. “In doing so, we might find that our approach and usage of language changes, and that the forms of our poems reflect bodily acceptance.” The seminar starts at 10 a.m. and tickets are $15 for non-PSSC members.
Phillips, an assistant professor in the MFA Writing Program and English Department at UNC Greensboro, has published three poetry collections and three chapbooks. Her third collection, Empty Clip, is set for release in Spring of 2018 through the University of Akron Press. Her work has appeared in several acclaimed literary magazines, including Agni, Ploughshares, and Poetry.
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