Jennifer Chang To Highlight Paul K. Bergan Poetry Festival Jan. 27-28

Jennifer Chang, an award-winning poet and professor of English and Creative Writing at George Washington University, will be poet-in-residence at the 10th annual Paul K. Bergan Poetry Festival at Foxcroft School on January 27-28, 2017, English Department Chair Anne Burridge announced Thursday.
 
The public is welcome to attend the festival, which also includes a Poetry Slam, Coffee House and readings of original and published works in English and foreign languages, as well as the formal Poetry Reading Competition, a decades-old tradition at the girls’ high school. Please call 540.687.4511 for more information.
Chang’s debut poetry collection, The History of Anonymity (2008), was selected for the Virginia Quarterly Review’s Poetry Series and was a finalist for the Shenandoah/ Glasgow Prize for Emerging Writers. Her second collection, Some Say the Lark, is forthcoming from Alice James Books in October 2017. Her poetry, which often investigate the intersections of nature, culture, and gender history, and seeks to find language for odd feelings, has appeared or is forthcoming from American Poetry Review, Boston Review, The Nation, The New Republic, PoetryA Public Space, and Virginia Quarterly Review, as well as The Best American Poetry 2010.
 
Chang, who lives in Washington, DC, holds a BA from the University of Chicago, an MFA from the University of Virginia, and a PhD, also from UVA. Her areas of scholarly interest include the history of poetry and poetics, race and space, Modernism, Pastoral Studies, and Asian American Studies.  She has held fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Barbara Deming Foundation, Asian American Writers’ Workshop, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and Virginia Commission for the Arts.
 
On Saturday, January 28, Chang will give a reading and conduct a writing workshop at the Audrey B. Currier Library in the morning, and serve as judge for the poetry reading competition in the afternoon. The festival begins Friday evening with the popular Poetry Slam, featuring original pieces presented by students and judged by their peers, and Open Mic opportunity for others to perform. It concludes Saturday afternoon with non-competitive readings original and published poetry, in English and in other languages, which range from French, Spanish, and German to Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Igbo.
 
Named in honor of former English teacher Paul Bergan, the annual poetry festival has brought a variety of established poets to campus over the years including the late Claudia Emerson (Virginia Poet Laureate), NSA Fellow Sandra Beasley, Stephen Cushman, alumna Tina Barr, Donna E.M. Denizé, and Sami Miranda, as well as spoken word artists Clint Smith, George Yamazawa, Jason LeVasseur, and Nan Fry.
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An all-girls boarding and day school in Northern Virginia, Foxcroft prepares young women in grades 9-12 for success in college and in life. Our outstanding academic program offers challenging courses, including Advanced Placement classes and an innovative STEM program. Our premiere equestrian program is nationally recognized, and our athletic teams have won conference and state championships. Experience the best in girls' boarding schools: visit Foxcroft.