A popular UTC workshop in which established writers from across the country, local authors, students and novice writers can engage in the open exchange of ideas, works and readings is set to return.
The 2024 Meacham Writers’ Workshop, a free event open to the public, takes place from Sept. 26-28 at the UTC Library, the University Center and at Stove Works (1250 E. 13th St. in Chattanooga). The workshop’s mission is to provide UTC students and underserved community members with greater access to the literary arts.
The three-day event is primarily funded by an endowment established by the late Jean Meacham—a professor and assistant dean of students at UTC—in memory of her husband, Ellis K. Meacham. The aim is to promote writing as an expressive art and to connect University writers with the broader community.
To learn more about the Meacham Writers’ Workshop, including full event details and signup links, visit utc.edu/arts-and-sciences/english/meachamwriters. Books are available for purchase at most of the events.
“The Meacham Writers’ Workshop is bringing together a diverse and talented group of writers to engage deeply with both the University and the wider Chattanooga community,” said UC Foundation Professor Sybil Baker, the workshop director and associate chair of the UTC Department of English. “This event continues to be a space where people interested in the literary arts of all levels—students, emerging voices and established authors—can connect, share their work and learn from one another.”
Visiting writers Tomás Q. Morín and Ira Sukrungruang and Spring 2023 Meacham Fellow Christian J. Collier will participate in the event’s opening night reading and reception—taking place from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26, in the UTC Library’s Roth Reading Room. Event attendees should register here. Free parking is available in UTC lots beginning at 5 p.m., and the program will start at 5:30 p.m.
- Morín is the author of “Where Are You From: Letters to My Son,” the memoir “Let Me Count the Ways,” and the poetry collections “Machete,” “Patient Zero” and “A Larger Country.” An associate professor in creative writing and associate chair of the Department of English at Rice University in Texas, Morín is the recipient of fellowships from the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation.
- Sukrungruang is the author of four nonfiction books, “This Jade World,” “Buddha’s Dog & Other Meditations,” “Southside Buddhist” and “Talk Thai: The Adventures of Buddhist Boy;” the short story collection “The Melting Season;” and the poetry collection “In Thailand It Is Night.” He is the Richard L. Thomas Professor of Creative Writing at Kenyon College in Ohio and the president of Sweet: A Literary Confection—a literary nonprofit organization.
- Collier, who resides in Chattanooga, is the author of “Greater Ghost” and the chapbook “The Gleaming of the Blade”—the 2021 editors’ selection from Bull City Press. His works have appeared in The Atlantic, Poetry, December, and elsewhere. A 2015 Loft Spoken Word Immersion Fellow, he also won the 2022 Porch Prize in Poetry and the 2020 ProForma Contest from Grist Journal.
The workshop schedule also includes:
- Friday, Sept. 27: Reading in the University Center Signal Mountain Room, noon-1:30 p.m., featuring Andrew Najberg, Justin Wymer, Elizabeth Savage and Sybil Baker.
- Friday, Sept. 27: Reading and reception, Stove Works, 5-7 p.m., featuring Tony Crunk, Russell Helms, Earl Braggs and Kris Whorton.
- Saturday, Sept. 28: Generative workshops and individual conferences, Southern Writers Room, UTC Library, 9-11 a.m., featuring Sukrungruang, Collier and Savage.
“We are very excited about the visiting writers coming to UTC for the workshop as well as the many local writers who will be in attendance—most notably Christian J. Collier,” Baker said. “Christian is about to have a big book launch and has a poem recently published in The Atlantic. He’s a rising star.”
As part of UTC’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, Morín will also participate in a pair of additional campus events.
- Friday, Sept. 27: Reception with students in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, 10-10:50 a.m.
- Friday, Sept. 27: A Conversation with Tomás Q. Morín, Lupton Hall Multicultural Center, 2-3 p.m. The event, hosted by the Hispanic Outreach Leadership Association (HOLA) student organization, is open to the entire campus—and light refreshments will be served.
Sponsors for the 2024 Meacham Writers’ Workshop include Stove Works, the UTC College of Arts and Sciences, the Division of Advancement and Alumni Affairs, the Department of English, the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, the Latin Studies Program, HOLA, and the George C. Connor Professorship.