Award-Winning Authors from Carolina African American Writers’ Collective Visit Gardner-Webb

Darlene J. Gravett Visiting Writer Series Hosts Lenard Moore and Bridgette Lacy on March 31

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—Lenard D. Moore, founder of the Carolina African American Writers’ Collective (CAAWC), along with a founding member, Bridgette A. Lacy, will be featured guests for the Darlene J. Gravett Visiting Writer Series at Gardner-Webb University on March 31 from 4 to 5 p.m. Hosted by the Department of English Language and Literature, the free program is open to the public and will be held in Hamrick Hall’s Blanton Auditorium.

Moore is the editor of the Collective’s anthology, “All the Songs We Sing: Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Carolina African American Writers’ Collective.” Lacy is a contributor to the book. The CAAWC has aided in the development of many celebrated writers such as Evie Shockley, the 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist in poetry; Camille T. Dungy, a 2019 winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts; and Fred Joiner, the Carrboro poet laureate and winner of a 2019 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship.

The selection committee chose these authors because of their successful careers, contributions to the anthology and leadership of the CAAWC, said Committee Co-chair Matthew Duffus, who is an assistant professor of English and director of the GWU Writing Center. “The committee was struck by the range of pieces and subject matters in this anthology, which includes fiction, poetry, and nonfiction,” he informed. “We also wanted to highlight the wonderful work of the longstanding Carolina African American Writers’ Collective.”

An internationally-known haiku writer, Moore has received numerous awards, including an appointment as the honorary curator of the American Haiku Archives at California State Library in Sacramento. He was also the recipient of the Haiku Museum of Tokyo Award in 2003, 1994 and 1983 and was the first African American president of the Haiku Society of America, a post he held in 2008 and 2009. He has also received the North Carolina Award for Literature; the Sam Ragan Award in the Fine Arts; and the Margaret Walker Creative Writing Award.

Lacy is an award-winning journalist and author. She served as a longtime features writer for the “News & Observer” in Raleigh. She’s the author of “Sunday Dinner,” a part of the Savor the South series by UNC Press and a finalist for the Pat Conroy Cookbook Prize. Lacy is also a contributor to “All the Songs We Sing” and “27 Views of Raleigh: The City of Oaks in Prose Poetry” (Eno Publishers, 2013). Her work has appeared in “Southern Living,” “Our State,” “Salt,” and “O. Henry” magazines.

Moore will discuss both the Collective’s history and the selection and editorial processes that went into the development of the anthology. Lacy will share about her work and her history with the organization. Both writers contributed their own work to the anthology—Moore in the form of haiku and Lacy in nonfiction. The authors will also participate in a Q&A with the audience and book signing. Earlier in the day, Moore and Lacy will meet with a small group of students to discuss writing and editing.

The Darlene J. Gravett Visiting Writer Series Fund was established to provide annual funding for the Department of English Language and Literature to host a visiting writer. This endowed fund was initiated by a gift from Gravett, associate provost emerita of Gardner-Webb and professor of English. The fund expresses Gravett’s commitment to the Department of English Language and Literature.

Auxiliary aids will be made available to persons with disabilities upon request 10 working days prior to the event.  Please call 704-406-4270 or email [email protected] with your request.

Gardner-Webb University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to six professional schools, 14 academic departments, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., Gardner-Webb prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Ignite your future at Gardner-Webb.edu.