Ouachita Baptist University to host Drew for poetry reading

ARKADELPHIA — Ouachita Baptist University’s Department of Language and Literature will welcome poet George Drew for “An Evening of Poetry: George Drew with Johnny Wink” at 5:30 p.m. March 27 in Ouachita’s Hickingbotham Hall, Room 200.

The event will feature Drew with Johnny Wink, Ouachita’s Betty Burton Peck professor of English, as they read selected poetry works and share stories of writing them. The event is free and open to the public.

“George will read the lion’s share of the poems,” Wink said. “I’m planning to read a couple of mine and a couple by Jack Butler, a friend of long standing and a wonderful writer. It was through Jack that George and I got to know each other.”

Drew was born and raised in Mississippi, and several of his works reflect his Southern upbringing. Much of his writing has been featured in magazines and journals nationwide. Some of his more recognized writings include “Pastoral Habits” and “Down & Dirty.”

“George Drew is a remarkable person,” Wink said. “He’s lived a very interesting life, and he talks and writes about it beautifully. I’m enchanted when I’m in his presence. I’ve never encountered a poet who addresses a wider range of subjects than does George.”

Doug Sonheim, chair of Ouachita’s Department of Language and Literature, emphasized the event will offer attendees the opportunity to hear an author read and reflect on his own words.

“Art, in general, and poetry, in particular, humanizes us, allowing us to see the world from someone else’s point of view,” said Sonheim, who also serves as professor of English and holder of the Clarence and Bennie Sue Anthony chair of Bible and Humanities.

“Think about it,” Sonheim said. “Hearing someone read aloud a poem he wrote is a face-to-face, never-to-be-repeated experience that brings you into the presence of another human being — actually, many humans, as you share that experience with the folks sitting next to you in the audience. Whereas a lot of what we hear these days divides and depresses us, the poems from George and Johnny, even the sad ones, will in their beauty uplift us.”

Drew currently lives in New York state and has won many awards for his work, including the Adirondack Literary Award for best poetry in 2009 and 2017 and the 2016 Bucks County Muse Award. He has authored eight collections, with his most recent, Fancy’s Orphan, being published in 2017.

Email Sonheim at sonheimd@obu. edu or call 870-245-5554 for more information.