North Carolina Poet Laureate, Kathryn Stripling Byer

HIGH POINT, N.C., Nov. 11, 2005 - The North Carolina Poet Laureate, Kathryn Stripling Byer, will host a live literary event as part of High Point University's 35th Phoenix Literary Festival on Nov. 17 in the Hayworth Fine Arts Center at 7 p.m.

The evening will feature members of the campus community presenting poetry, prose, film and an audio production. Genesis Gospel Choir will sing and present an inspirational dance, and the Petal Points will perform. Byer will read her poem, "Eavesdropping," which will be the evening's theme. All student performances relate to the theme.

"Ms. Byer herself suggested that she collaborate with students, and she has been writing with several of our student-poets via e-mail," said Judy Isaksen, assistant professor of English and faculty director of the event. "They will debut these pieces at the event. What a tremendous opportunity for student-writers to collaborate with a professional, and her willingness to share the stage with our students speaks to her love of poetry and her desire to bring the magic of words to the people of North Carolina."

Byer has served as the poet-in-residence at Western Carolina University and Lenoir-Rhyne College. She is a former poetry instructor in the Masters of Fine Arts Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She received her bachelor’s degree in English from Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga., and her master’s degree in fine arts from UNC-G.

Byer is the author of four collections of poems including Catching Light (2002), Black Shawl (1998), Wildwood Flower (1992) and The Girl in the Midst of the Harvest (1986). Wildwood Flower received the Lamont Poetry Prize for the best second book of poetry from the Academy of American Poets and Black Shawl received the Roanoke-Chowan and Brockman-Campbell awards. Catching Light was nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Award in Poetry and received the Southeast Booksellers Association Best Book of the Year in Poetry Award in 2003. Byer also received the North Carolina Award for Literature in 2001.

"This campus is brimming with talent in all of the creative genres — writing, music, dance, art — and with the exception of Ms. Byer as our guest speaker, the entire event will be produced fully by students," said Isaksen. "The evening promises to be a delight, and we invite the community of High Point to join us."

Two hundred high school students from across the state, and university students who have submitted their poetry and fiction for constructive criticism, will participate in the two-day Phoenix Literary Festival. Their work will be discussed at campus workshops held at 9:45 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Nov. 18, when published writers of poetry and fiction offer writing advice and encouragement. The festival culminates in an award ceremony Friday afternoon.

The event is free and is open to the public.

High Point University is a liberal arts institution with approximately 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 52 countries and 36 states at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by U.S. News and World Report 12th among comprehensive universities in the South and in the top 100 nationally. The university offers 45 undergraduate majors and five graduate-degree programs. It is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference.