Poet R.T. Smith will read from his work Sept. 24

Posted Sep. 14, 2015 at 11:22 a.m.

BOONE—Poet and editor R.T. Smith, who is the 2015-16 Rachel Rivers-Coffey Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at Appalachian State University, will read from his work Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Plemmons Student Union’s Table Rock Room as part of the Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series.

Smith is the author of the poetry collections “In the Night Orchard: New and Selected Poems,” “The Red Wolf: A Dream of Flannery O’Connor” and many others. His afternoon craft talk, also in Table Rock Room, will be from 2-3:15 p.m.

A frequent guest of the Visiting Writers Series, Smith earned a master’s degree from Appalachian in 1976. While at Appalachian, Smith founded the journal Cold Mountain Review but credits alumnus Donald Secrest who provided “encouragement and then the assistance” and “quickly assumed a formal role with the journal.” Cold Mountain Review continues to be published biannually.

Smith taught at Auburn University for 19 years and was coeditor of the Southern Humanities Review. He has edited Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee University Review since 1995 and was named writer-in-residence at Washington and Lee in 2009, where he also teaches courses on fiction writing and literature.

The Visiting Writers Series is named in honor of Hughlene Bostian Frank (class of 1968), 2013 Appalachian Alumni Association Outstanding Service award recipient, past trustee and generous supporter of the university.

The Visiting Writers Series is also supported by the Appalachian State University Foundation, Appalachian’s Office of Academic Affairs, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of English, the Summer Reading Program, the University Bookstore, Carol Grotnes Belk Library and Information Commons, Watauga Residential College, and the Appalachian Journal. Business sponsors are The Gideon Ridge Inn and The Red Onion Restaurant. Community sponsors include John and the late Margie Idol, Paul and Judy Tobin, Alice Naylor, Thomas McLaughlin and The High Country Writers.

Parking is free on campus after 5 p.m. Event organizers recommend those attending the series use the College Street Parking Deck (from King Street, turn down College Street at the First Baptist Church), which opens to the public weekdays at 5:30 p.m. To reach the student union, cross College Street and follow the walkway between the chiller plant and the University Bookstore, passing the Post Office and entering the Student Union on the second floor.

For further parking information or a map, visit http://parking.appstate.edu or call the Parking and Traffic Office at 828-262-2878. A campus map showing Plemmons Student Union is online at http://studentunion.appstate.edu/pagesmith/54.

For additional information on the Visiting Writers Series season, email VWS@appstate.edu. To receive Appalachian’s “This Week in the Arts” announcements by email, contact arts-events@appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.