MACON – Dr. Anya Silver, professor of English in Mercer University's College of Liberal Arts, will read from and sign her third book of poetry, From Nothing, Oct. 13, 7 p.m., in Connell Student Center Conference Room 2.
The reading is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
From Nothing, published earlier this year by Louisiana State University Press, follows a mother, wife, and artist as illness and loss of loved ones disrupt the peaceful flow of life.
Dr. Silver recently had one of her poems, “Maid Maleen,” published in Best American Poetry 2016, the latest edition from the eagerly anticipated series released each fall by Scribner's.
Last June, her second book, I Watched You Disappear, earned her an award in the Poetry category at the 51st annual Georgia Author of the Year Awards (GAYA), presented by the Georgia Writers Association.
Dr. Silver's poetry explores themes such as faith, redemption, memory and family, and seeking to find the eternal within the ordinary world. Another recurring theme in her work is living with cancer, as she was diagnosed and has been living with inflammatory breast cancer since 2004.
I Watched You Disappear was a finalist for the Julie Suk Awards and was listed as one of the top books of poetry in 2014 by both The Christian Century and Image magazine. Her first book, The Ninety-Third Name of God, was a GAYA finalist in the Poetry category.
Dr. Silver's poetry has been anthologized in a number of books and published widely in literary journals such as The Harvard Review, The Georgia Review, The Shenandoah Review, Five Points and many others. Her poems have been featured by Garrison Keillor on “The Writer's Almanac,” in Ted Kooser's syndicated column “American Life in Poetry,” as an Academy of American Poets “Poem of the Day,” and on Poetry Daily.
She joined the faculty at Mercer in 2000 after earning her Ph.D. in English literature from Emory University and her bachelor's degree in English literature and creative writing from Haverford College.
Her teaching and research interests include 19th century British literature, children's literature, poetry, creative writing, and women's and gender studies.
