The Artist's Statement

Season 3, Episode 1, features poet Denton Loving. He is the author of two poetry collections, Crimes Against Birds, published by Main Street Rag in 2014, and his new book, Tamp, published by Mercer University Press earlier this year. Set in Appalachia,Tamp's central theme focuses on the grief and sense of loss that followed the death of Loving’s father. He also explores ancestry, religion, and our interactions with both the natural and dream worlds.

Loving’s work has appeared in River Styx, Iron Horse Literary Review, The Chattahoochee Review among other journals. He earned his MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars and has received scholarships and fellowships from organizations such as the Eckerd College Writers Conference and the Key West Literary Seminars.

For over a decade, he co-directed the Mountain Heritage Literary Festival at Lincoln Memorial University where he also co-edited drafthorse: the literary journal of work and no work. He’s also a co-founder and editor at EastOver Press and its literary journal Cutleaf. 

Loving reads "The Fence Builder," "Genealogy," "A Love Poem about an Exploding Cow," "Hag Stone, Hex Stone, Holy Stone," and "There is a barn."

Host: Davin Malasarn. Music by Joe Rivers. Artwork by Ayumi Takahashi.

The Artist's Statement is brought to you by The Granum Foundation.