Writers in the Library features Connie Green and Kristi Maxwell, Feb. 23

Two writers with ties to East Tennessee will read from their works at the February 23rd Writers in the Library: poet/young adult writer Connie Green and poet Kristi Maxwell. Readings begin at 7 p.m., Monday, February 23, in the auditorium of the John C. Hodges Library on the University of Tennessee campus.

connie2Connie Jordan Green is both a poet and a writer of stories and novels for young people. Her novels, The War at Home and Emmy (Tellico Books/Iris Press), are both award-winners. The War at Home was placed on the ALA List of Best Books for Young Adults and was nominated to the 1991-92 Volunteer State Book Award Master List. Emmy was selected as a Notable 1992 Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies. Her poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. She was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the East Tennessee Hall of Fame for Writers. Green holds a BS from Auburn University and an MA from the University of Tennessee. She has taught creative writing for the University of Tennessee and continues to teach at various workshops. Since 1978 she has written a newspaper column for The Loudon County News Herald. She lives on a farm in Loudon County, Tennessee, with her husband, a retired engineer. They have three grown children and seven grandchildren.

kristiAn East Tennessee native, Kristi Maxwell currently lives and writes in Cincinnati, where she is pursuing a PhD in English. She is the author of two books of poems, Realm Sixty-four (Ahsahta Press, 2008) and Hush Sessions (Saturnalia Books, forthcoming in 2009), and also the chapbook Elsewhere & Wise (Dancing Girl Press, 2008). Her most recent awards include the Isabel & Mary Neff Fellowship and the Greta Wrolstad Scholarship for Young Poets to attend the Summer Literary Seminars in Russia. Kristi received a BA in English and a BS in Communications from the University of Tennessee and an MFA in Poetry from the University of Arizona. In her spare time, she practices kung fu with another poet.

The Writers in the Library series is sponsored by the University of Tennessee Libraries and the Creative Writing Program of the UT English Department. For further information, please contact Jo Anne Deeken, head of technical services, UT Libraries, at 974-6913 or jdeeken@utk.edu, or Kali Meister, Jack E. Reese writer in residence, UT Libraries, at meisterkali@gmail.com.