Rod Jellema to address university?s Faculty Writing Center
Rod Jellema, professor emeritus of English, University of Maryland, will read his poetry and talk about being a ?poet/administrator? at the fall Faculty Writing Center luncheon on Friday, September 29, from 1 to 3 p.m. the TU Administration Building?s Executive Meeting Room (424).
The event is open to all members of the Faculty Writing Center and those interested in becoming members. There is no charge; see note below for reservation information.
Jellema taught at the University of Maryland for 37 years, 20 as director of the university?s Creative Writing Program. He launched his work as a poet at age 40 while teaching 20th century poetry courses.
He is the author of four books of poetry: Something Tugging the Line, The Lost Faces, The Eighth Day: New and Selected Poems, and most recently, A Slender Grace.
Jellema received the Towson University Prize for Literature in 2004.
His poetry has also been awarded the Hart Crane Prize, a prize and two poetry-writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, three creative and performing arts grants from the University of Maryland and several writing residency fellowships at Yaddo, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
He edited and translated two books of poetry from the North Sea language of Frisian. For this he received Friesland?s highest literary honor, the Pieter Jelles Prize, as well as the Columbia University Translation Prize.
As a teacher, Jellema takes great pride in the nearly 40 volumes of poetry published by former students in his undergraduate workshops at the University of Maryland and at the Writers Center in Bethesda, Md.
The Michigan native now lives in Baltimore?s Canton neighborhood.
Those wishing to attend the Faculty Writing Center luncheon should R.S.V.P. to Clarinda Harriss, {charriss@towson.edu}, by Monday, September 25.
