The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Arts held the year’s first Third Thursday, a poetry event held on the third Thursday of each month, on Sept. 18.
Both students and citizens of Auburn were in attendance and a jazz trio played before the event for guests arriving early.
This week’s event was primarily a showcase for Rose McLarney, National Poetry Series winner and assistant creative writing professor at Auburn.
Before the main event started, seven guest speakers were invited to share their work at the open mic segment kicking off Third Thursday.
Once the open mic portion of the event was over, McLarney took the stage.
Between poems, she discussed her upbringing, as well as some of the themes she liked to work with in her poetry.
“Its Day Being Gone [McLarney’s second book] heavily focuses on memory, folklore, and the stories we make up for ourselves,” McLarney said.
McLarney’s poetry employs imagery of nature, especially landscapes and animals.
She attributes this quality of her writing to her upbringing in the Southern Appalachians, an area McLarney said she is very fond of and has a strong nostalgic connection to.
McLarney also shared some of her more recent poems, one of which she called “probably the most personal I’m willing to share.”
McLarney said later that her next collection deals largely with the theme of the passage of time.
“I feel like it helps me to have some idea to organize [my poetry] around, so I’m not just staring terrified at a blank page not knowing what to write about,” McLarney said.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
