The New York Times posts tonight that the Library of Congress has named Decatur resident and Emory Professor Natasha Trethewey the 2012-2013 poet laureate of the United States.
The City of Decatur and the AJC Decatur Book Festival are hosting a reception at the gazebo on the square Thursday (tomorrow) from 5pm to 6:30 to celebrate. Come toast Natasha in person. Food and libations supplied by Eddie’s Attic.
Now THAT is something. Way to go, Ms. Trethewey.
four guggenheim fellows and now the poet laureate of the US out of our little town of 19,000 people.
meanwhile, the highlight of my day was tricking my five year-old daughter into pulling my forefinger.
i may need to raise my game.
….or readjust your expectations. I’ve been readjusting my expectations ever since I realized I was too old to compete for Miss America.
i can relate. my dreams of becoming an underwear model have been shot to hell.
p.s. congratulations, Natasha, we’re very proud of you!
A fine honor for a Decatur resident. And she’s a Southerner from Mississippi who likes to write about cemeteries! She also has an interesting family story, someone that Faulkner would have included in one of his masterpieces.
Maybe she could write about Decatur: “It was a dark and stormy night and while strolling through the Decatur cemetery, I came upon a lady dressed in black who seemed to be hovering over a grave but suddenly, came towards me and asked, “What you doin’ here so late at night all by yourself! Don’t you know there’s Yankees roamin’ around!”
One of her “cemetery” poems, “Monument,” affected me deeply–still does, in fact. I can’t think of a better choice for this honor. Hope she still reads at the book festival!
By the way, according to an interview I read, the poem “Graveyard Blues” was inspired by one of Trethewey’s runs through the Decatur Cemetery. “Monument” was a follow-up to that poem–or more precisely, an atonement for a fib she told in the final stanza. “Graveyard Blues” can be heard here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ue5EaQGsJ0
DM posted a reading of “Monument” in Morning Metro.
Once again proving that Decatur is a City filled with awesome people and places –
We are fortunate to have such great neighbors!
Yes, this is way cool, and a great reflection on our little town. Not to be divisive, but let me point out that Decatur did not produce Trethewey, it attracted her. A gentle reminder that the high-falutin’ new residents that are drawn to this place should be welcomed and valued.
Also not to be divisive, but I’d say it was probably Emory that attracted her–though I’m sure she loves Decatur too!
Decatur is where she chose to live once Emory drew her here. It’s also worth noting that she hadn’t yet won the Pulitzer when she came here. Her rise to prominence has happened while she has been a part of both communities.
Old vs. new implications totally aside, this is a really great point about a community’s need to continuously work and evolve to meet ever-changing economic and social conditions. During the Strategic Plan sessions, Daren Wang mentioned that his dream was to see Decatur become “the literary hub of the southeast.” I don’t think he was being hyperbolic.
Re literary hub of Southeast: Seems perfect for Decatur but so ironic that we just lost another of our few bookstores, Blue Elephant. I miss being able to walk over to pick up a book when the spirit moved me or just browse among the store’s beautiful stock. It was truly a literary space. Hope that Little Shop and Books Again thrive. Eagle Eye too even though it’s not quite as walkable and not strictly in COD.
Decatur Book Festival Keynote possibility? Could there be a better choice this year, especially with the event moved to the Schwartz Center at Emory?
That should be it!
you read my mind. +1
I hope to be able to make it this afternoon. Will our new laureate be speaking or reading at all? I hope so. I can’t wait to find out how many words rhyme with Decatur!
There will be a few comments, but don’t expect a reading. We planned this as a chance for her friends and neighbors to congratulate her, and we didn’t want to put any more pressure on her after what is a very exciting but stressful day.
That makes sense. She deserves some celebration without added stress!
‘Tater, baiter, hater, cater, ‘Gator, later, maitre, raider, skater, traitor, waiter…..all of the rhymes seem to involve food or meanness.
You left out at least one big obvious one that immediately came to my inner 12 year-old’s mind.
OK, make that two…
Decatur
the Incubator
of Haters?
No!
Of waiters
and skaters
and beer-pub raters.
Decatur!
Excellent! First-rater!
Wowsa – CONGRATULATIONS indeed! 🙂 e
Sufjan Stevens did something like this in a song called “Decatur”, but that was Decatur, Illinois.
http://www.metrolyrics.com/decatur-lyrics-sufjan-stevens.html
Thanks to everyone that came out. If you were there, you know how moved Natasha was by the outpouring of support.
I neglected to thank Ryan Klee and the rest of the Lenz Marketing crew for helping get the word out yesterday. As usual, they knocked it out of the park.