LEXINGTON, Ky.—Richard Taylor, Poet Laureate of Kentucky from 1999-2001, and Kenan Visiting Writer at Transylvania, will read from his poetry Thursday, March 25, at 8 p.m. in room 102 of the Cowgill Center. The event is free and open to the public.
“We are delighted to have a former Poet Laureate of Kentucky teaching in our English and Foundations of the Liberal Arts programs,” said William F. Pollard, vice president and dean of the college. “Richard Taylor knows Kentucky and Kentucky history, but—more importantly—he knows the talent that continues to come from Kentucky writers and how to help develop that talent in his students through an appreciation for literature and the encouragement to write well.”
This term at Transylvania, Taylor teaches Prospectives on Literature and leads a fiction workshop.
Taylor has won a variety of honors for his extensive publications in both poetry and prose. As director of Poetry in the Schools for the Kentucky Arts Commission, he served as poet-in-residence at a dozen public elementary and secondary schools across Kentucky. He has also served as a professor of English at Kentucky State University for many years.
Taylor earned a B.A. in English from the University of Kentucky in 1963, an M.A. in English from the University of Louisville in 1964, a J.D. from the University of Louisville School of Law in 1967 and a Ph.D. in English from UK in 1974. His publications include Sue Munday: A Novel of the Civil War in Kentucky, Rail Splitter (poems), Stone Eye (poems) and Girty (novel).
For more information, contact the public relations office at (859) 233-8120.