1000 x 90

N.C. Poet Laureate and ASU Professor Joseph Bathanti Celebrates Veterans Day with ‘Fayetteville’

by Madison V. Fisler

Nov. 11, 2013. N.C. Poet Laureate and Appalachian State University professor Joseph Bathanti celebrates Veteran’s Day the way he does best, in poetry. His new poem, titled “Fayetteville” serves to honor veterans for their “patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice.” 

File:Joseph_Bathanti_headshotNorth Carolina is home to eight military installations, including Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base and Camp Lejune, and has one of the largest veteran populations in the country. 

From a press release: 

“North Carolina is overflowing with unforgettable stories of veterans and their families,” Bathanti said. He was appointed Poet Laureate in September 2012 and has since then conducted writing workshops across the state. 

Several events are scheduled in conjunction with Veteran’s Day including “Deployed,” a staged reading on Nov. 15 and 16 with the Touring Theatre of North Carolina in conjunction with Bathanti. This event is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Mack and Mack in Greensboro. 

On Friday, Nov. 15, Bathanti will read his work at the first annual Carolina Veterans Weekend at 7 p.m. at Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo. 

Bathanti is a professor of creative writing at Appalachian State University, where he is also Director of Writing in the Field and Writer-in Residence in the University’s Watauga Global Community. He has taught writing workshops in prisons for more than three decades and is former chair of the N.C. Writers’ Network Prison project. 

His many awards include The Sam Ragan Fine Arts Award, the Novello Literary Award and many, many others. He has published numerous works of poetry, fiction and non-fiction and became North Carolina’s seventh Poet Laureate in 2012. 

Holding office as N.C. Poet Laureate, the awardee becomes an “ambassador of N.C. literature.” The position requires the laureate to participate in various literary activities across the state, such as working with schools and community groups.  The entirety of “Fayetteville” can be read here