Occupation Poet Name Kathryn Byer Genre poetry, essays Role Poet | Spouse Jim Byer Awards James Laughlin Award Children 1 | |
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Alma mater Wesleyan College, B.A.
UNC-Greensboro, M.F.A. Notable awards North Carolina Poet Laureate Education Wesleyan College, University of North Carolina at Greensboro People also search for Tracy Philpot, Ron McFarland, R. T. Smith Books Wildwood Flower: Poems, The girl in the midst of the harvest, Catching light | ||
Poet kathryn stripling byer
Kathryn Stripling Byer (November 25, 1944 – June 5, 2017), also called Kay Byer, was an American poet and teacher. She was named by Governor Mike Easley as the fifth North Carolina Poet Laureate from 2005–09. She was the first woman to hold the position.
Contents
- Poet kathryn stripling byer
- Kathryn stripling byer reads from descent
- Early life and education
- Career
- Poet laureateship
- Personal life
- Death
- Works
- Books
- Essays
- Awards and honors
- References
Kathryn stripling byer reads from descent
Early life and education
Kathryn Stripling was born in Camilla, Georgia in 1944. Her parents were C.M. Stripling, a farmer, and his wife, Bernice (née Campbell) Stripling.
She went on to graduate with a bachelors in English from Macon, Georgia's Wesleyan College and then received her M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she studied under Allen Tate, Fred Chappell, and Robert W. Watson. During this time at UNC-G, Byer decided to move to the mountains of North Carolina.
Career
After receiving her M.F.A., Byer became poet-in-residence at Western Carolina University, 1988–98, as well as UNC-G in 1995 and Lenoir-Rhyne College in 1999. She has published six full collections of poetry as well as some chapbooks. Her most recent collection is Descent published in 2012 by Louisiana State University Press.
Poet laureateship
In 2005, North Carolina Governor Michael Easley appointed Byer to be the state's fifth poet laureate following Fred Chappell whose term ended in 2002. She was the first woman to hold the position.
As part of her outreach program during her term as poet laureate, Byer maintained "My Laureate's Lasso", a blog that focused on North Carolina poets and poetry. She was also the judge for the North Carolina Poetry Society's Poet Laureate Award.
Personal life
Kathryn Stripling Byer was married to Western Carolina University professor Jim Byer. They had one daughter and last lived in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
Death
Kathryn Stripling Byer died at the age of 72 in Cullowhee on June 5, 2017 from lymphoma.
Works
Some of Byer's poetry appeared in, among other periodicals, The Carolina Quarterly, The Georgia Review, The Hudson Review, The Iowa Review, Poetry, and The Southern Review. Her work often dealt with lives and hardships of western North Carolina mountain inhabitants, especially women, in earlier generations.
Books
Byer's books include:
Essays
Some of Byer's most notable essays include: