In honor of National Poetry Month, the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an evening with Marjory Wentworth, past Poet Laureate of South Carolina, and author of One River, One Boat, on Friday, April 25, at 5:00 p.m., at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort). Free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale and signing. Seating is limited; please call in advance to reserve: 843-379-7025.
About the Book and Author
Famously cut from Governor Nikki Haley’s inauguration in 2015, former South Carolina poet laureate Marjory Wentworth’s poem “One River, One Boat” serves as the titular piece for her newest book. This collection of occasional poems and essays includes those written about heartbreaking and joyous times in South Carolina’s history and Wentworth’s own life including the deaths of relatives, gubernatorial inaugurations, the Mother Emmanuel AME massacre, Hurricane Hugo, and more.
Congressman James Clyburn read Wentworth’s poem “One River, One Boat” into the Congressional record in 2015 after it was pulled from
Marjory Wentworth
Haley’s inauguration, saying he “hope[s] the people of South Carolina, across the country, and peoples around the world are as touched by her words as I have been.”
“A poet is a historian. If they are tuned in to the community around them, their words can be important documents of an era. South Carolina is a complicated and beautiful place. If you want to know the nuance of the Palmetto State, read Marjory’s poems.”—Marcus Amaker, Inaugural Poet Laureate of Charleston
Marjory Wentworth is the New York Times bestselling co-author of Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets, and the author of the prizewinning children’s story Shackles. Celebrated for her significant contributions to literature and social justice, she served as the poet laureate of South Carolina from 2003–2020. During her tenure as poet laureate, she published 4 collections of poems and received seven Pushcart Prize nominations. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Art in Writing from New York University, she moved to South Carolina in 1989, where she taught courses in writing, social justice, and banned books at The College of Charleston.
As part of her visit to Beaufort, Wentworth will also teach a writing workshop, Write Living Newspapers, on Saturday, April 26, from 10:00 to noon, limited to 15 participants. $45 each, advance registration required. https://writelivingnewspapers.eventbrite.com
To learn more about the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, please visit www.patconroyliterarycenter.org
