The exciting launch of “I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing” is coming to Summit Artspace on May 7 from 2-4 p.m. This one-of-a-kind collection, spearheaded by Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour, is a culmination of poems by members of Ohio’s Appalachian population. It features a range of voices from many minority groups, including indigenous and Affrilachian (African-American artists, writers, and musicians in the Appalachian region of the United States) populations and the LGBTQ+ community. The collection also features both poets with developmental differences and poets of all ages.
Publication of the collection was made possible by a Poets Laureate Fellowship awarded to Gunter-Seymour in 2021 by The Academy of American Poets. Additional funding and support were provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, and the Ohio Arts Council.
Kari Gunter-Seymour was born in Warren and raised in Athens County, Ohio. She received her M.A. in commercial photography and B.F.A. in graphic design from Ohio University. She is the author of Alone in the House of My Heart (Ohio University Swallow Press, 2022); A Place So Deep Inside America It Can’t Be Seen (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions), which was the winner of the 2020 Ohio Poet of the Year Award and long-listed for the 2020 Julie Suk Award; and Serving (Crisis Chronicles Press), runner up Yellow Chair Review Chapbook Contest. Her work was selected by former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey to be included in the PBS American Portrait crowdsourced poem, Remix: For My People.
Copies of “I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing” will be available for purchase at Summit Artspace. Click here for more details and the full event listing.
Questions regarding the book launch may be directed to Community Engagement Coordinator Grace Carter (grace@summitartspace.org).
