Catching Up With Kevin McKelvey (MFA '04)

Some news from Kevin McKelvey, MFA '04:

"I just completed two weeks as Artist-in-Residence at Isle Royale National
Park in the middle of Lake Superior http://www.nps.gov/isro . In exchange
for a cabin and canoe, I gave one program a week, and I will submit a piece
of work within a year. The archipelago was an amazing place to experience
past human cultures and a pristine ecotone between northern hardwood forests
and boreal forest, which leads to the kind of poems I like to write. Jnan
Blau and Dawn Janke, friends of the MFA program, teach at Michigan Technical
University in Houghton, MI, where the Park is headquartered, and told me
about the program. Check out other Park Service properties with
Artists-in-Residence at http://www.nps.gov/archive/volunteer/air.htm

And last fall, I spent a week east of Eugene, Oregon, at the HJ Andrews
Experimental Forest as a Resident of the Spring Creek Project of Oregon
State University. I'm still trying to comprehend the 500 year-old firs, and
I need to to contribute to their Long-Term Ecological Reflections Project.
I'm also still trying to comprehend why Adrian Matejka couldn't get me to
the airport on time. http://springcreek.oregonstate.edu/"

Congrats on all the different gigs, Kevin!

In Memory of Josh Vinzant, 1973-2007

Max and History


Max sees the house clearly mirrored,

collapsed below the spruce and thin oaks.

His great-grandfather was born there, over

the white moon, beside the brown Grand River.

In '95, his uncle cleared

away the scrub brush, poured kerosene

under the stairwell. Tossed in a Zippo,

broke out a bottle and joint. Said, "Look at her."

The ghosts of grey coyotes crouched down

at their feet. Max named the smallest one

and passed the joint; the flames around

the chimney rose. Max used his handgun

and shot out the stars. Left one burning

in case he ever wanted to return.

--Josh Vinzant

With Deep Sorrow

MFA Carbondale is deeply saddened to acknowledge the passing of Joshua David Vinzant, MFA '05.

Online condolences and tributes may be left at

Danfelt Funeral Home

Rest in peace, Josh.

Better late than never...

It has recently come to this blog's attention that a poem by SIUC's own Rodney Jones was featured in the June 24 edition of the Washington Post in former US Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky's "Poet's Choice" column:

Washington Post

Summer Poetry Roundup!

New poems by former poetry faculty member Lucia Perillo appear in the new issue (Volume 19, issue 2) of Sycamore Review.

Two poems by Melanie Jordan (MFA '01) appear in the latest issue of Third Coast. The poems are "When I Talk Like Loose Sugar Waiting" and "Interstate Daydream."

New poems by Matt Guenette (MFA '99) are forthcoming in DIAGRAM. The poems are "Li Po Poem" and "The Town."

A Fun Time Was Had By All

Thanks to everyone involved with this year's Young Writers Workshop--the students and the staff, the faculty and guests. Next year will be the tenth anniversary of Young Writers at SIUC, and in honor of that fact, we will be extending the workshop so that it is now five days long. Our dates for next year will be June 24 through June 28, 2008.