Poetry is alive at West Virginia University.
James Harms, professor of English in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at WVU , recently published his sixth book,After West.
In this collection of poetry, he addresses the notion of home from both personal and social perspectives by trying to understand who we are in the context of location.
I believe one of poetrys jobs is to make memorable the activity of living and to render in language what it was like to be alive at a particular moment in time,Harms said.
InAfter West,he writes about landscapes, geography and identity. Many of his poems discuss the idea from a line in the title poem:After westthere wasnt any way to grow the new idea.The concept ofwestis personal to Harms, who grew up in Los Angeles and believes that in a country of growth, expansion and self-improvement,westrepresents possibility, hope and destiny.
West Virginians refer to the counties theyre from almost exclusively, which is true of nowhere else Ive ever lived,he said.�€~After Westis very much a reflection of the impact West Virginia has had on my sense of self and the need to honor the ordinary moments that make up our lives.
Harms, founder and director of the Universitys Creative Writing Program, joined the WVU faculty in 1994 after receiving his Master of Fine Arts from Indiana University. Along withAfter West,Carnegie Mellon University Press has published four of his books:Freeways and Aqueducts(2004),Quarters(2001),The Joy Addict(1998) andModern Ocean(1992). His fifth book,East of Avalon(2000), was published by Caddis Case Press.
In addition, Harmscontemporary poems, essays and short stories have appeared in many literary journals, and he is a contributing editor of West Branch.
Harms has been awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Creative Writing, the PEN /Revson Fellowship, fellowships from the West Virginia and Pennsylvania Arts commissions and three Pushcart Prizes. Since arriving at WVU , he has been named a Benedum Distinguished Scholar, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teacher, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Researcher and Carnegie Foundation/CASE United States Teacher of the Year for West Virginia.
This semester, Harms is on sabbatical serving as the poet in residence at the Stadler Center for Poetry at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa.
After Westis available athttp://www.amazon.com/After-West-James-Harms/dp/0887484816.