1. 4/1/2015 Acclaimed Pa. poet to serve as MSU writer­in­residence (Mississippi State University)
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Terrance Hayes
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Contact: Karyn Brown
February 05, 2015
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Acclaimed Pa. poet to serve as MSU writer­in­
residence
STARKVILLE, Miss.­­National award­winning
poet Terrance Hayes visits Mississippi State
next week [Feb. 9­13] as the writer­in­residence
with the College of Arts and Sciences' Institute
for the Humanities.
A University of Pittsburgh English professor, he
is a winner of the MacArthur Fellowship, as well
as the Whiting Writers Award and National
Endowment for the Arts, United States Artists
Zell and Guggenheim fellowships.
Hayes will read from his poetry during a 7 p.m.
Tuesday [Feb. 10] program. Taking place in in
McCool Hall's Taylor Auditorium, the event is
free and open to all.
He is the author of five books of poetry,
including "Lighthead," winner of a 2010 National
Book Award.

2. 4/1/2015 Acclaimed Pa. poet to serve as MSU writer­in­residence (Mississippi State University)
http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/detail.php?id=7060 2/2
A graduate of Pittsburgh and Coker College in
his native South Carolina, Hayes also was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and his works are
two­time selections for the Pushcart Prize anthology and have appeared in seven editions of "The Best American
Poetry." Other honored works include "Wind in a Box; Hip Logic," winner of the National Poetry Series, and
"Muscular Music," winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award.
His latest release, "How to Be Drawn," is scheduled for publication later this year. For more biographical
information, visit www.writing.pitt.edu/people/faculty/terrance­hayes.
While at MSU, Hayes will hold office hours, meet with a creative writing class and be part of an informal discussion
with students in the African American Studies program.
"Terrance Hayes is one of the most innovative, engaging and critically acclaimed poets writing today," said
associate professor Catherine Pierce of MSU's English department.
Pierce, who directs the department's creative writing program, said Hayes' "sharp, formally inventive, sometimes
funny, always powerful poems touch on everything from family to race to pop culture to history, and hearing him
read his work is a thrill."
William Anthony Hay, Institute for the Humanities director, said the writer­in­residence program is beginning its
second year. It and related initiatives were created to provide MSU students with additional opportunities to learn
from leading figures in their respective fields, the associate professor of history added.
He said public events like Hayes' poetry reading also enable the institute to "reach out to the wider campus" and
provide another way of "highlighting Mississippi State's engagement with the humanities."
For more information about Hayes' visit, contact the institute at whay@history.msstate.edu. The institute's website is
www.ih.msstate.edu.
The College of Arts and Sciences is MSU's largest academic unit and is found online at www.cas.msstate.edu. For
additional information on the college, humanities institute, English department or other entities, contact
communication director Karyn Brown at 662­325­7952 or kbrown@deanas.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi's flagship research university and is found at www.msstate.edu, facebook.com/msstate,
instagram.com/msstate and twitter.com/msstate.