Delta Symposium XVII presents poet John Bensko and fiction writer Cary Holladay April 7
ASU - Jonesboro: Delta Symposium XVII presents poet John Bensko and fiction writer
Cary Holladay April 7
Delta Blues Symposium XVII presents poet and writer John Bensko and short story
writer and novelist Cary Holladay reading from their works on Thursday, April 7, at
7:30 p.m., in the lower lobby of ASU's Cooper Alumni Center, 2600 Alumni Boulevard,
Jonesboro. At the conclusion of the reading, Bensko and Holladay will each answer
questions and sign books. Presented by ASU's English and Philosophy Department, the
reading is free and open to the public. Bensko and Holladay are married and teach at
the University of Memphis.
Cary Holladay is associate professor of English at the University of Memphis, where
she teaches fiction. A native of Virginia, she holds an A.B. from the College of
William and Mary and an M.A. from Pennsylvania State University. She is the author
of a novel, "Mercury" (2002), a novella, "A Fight in the Doctor's Office" (2008),
and several collections of short stories, most recently "The Quick Change Artist"
(2006). Her awards include a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and an O.
Henry Prize for her short story "Merry-Go-Sorry." Her fiction has recently appeared
in such places as New Stories from the South, The Georgia Review, and Glimmer Train.
John Bensko is professor of English at the University of Memphis, where he teaches
poetry and fiction. Bensko holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University
of Alabama and a Ph.D. in 20th century poetry and narrative technique from Florida
State. His books include "Sea Dogs" (short stories, 2004), "The Iron City" (poetry,
2000), "The Waterman's Children" (poetry, 1994), and "Green Soldiers," which won the
prestigious Yale Series of Younger Poets Award in 1981. He won the McLeod-Grobe
Poetry Prize for 2010, and his work has recently appeared in The Georgia Review, The
Southern Review, and Tri Quarterly.
Delta Blues Symposium XVII is sponsored by the Department of English and Philosophy
at ASU. For more information, contact symposium co-chair Dr. Gregory Hansen
(ghansen@astate.edu), Department of English and Philosophy, at (870) 972-3043, visit
the website http://altweb.astate.edu/blues/, or see ASU's NewsPage releases at
http://www.astate.edu/a/asunews/.
