CONROE (April 27, 2016) – O Hippie! my
Hippie! Lone Star College-Montgomery hosts the 25th annual
Walt Whitman Birthday Celebration. This year’s theme is Walt Whitman: the first
hippie. There will be a scholarly panel discussion at LSC-Montgomery Thursday,
May 5, at 3 p.m. in the Health Sciences Center Room B-102 followed by the
annual Walt Whitman gathering of poets at Black Walnut Café 9000 New Trails Drive,
The Woodlands, Texas 77381 at 7 p.m. All events are free and open to the
public.
Walt Whitman biographer Dr. Jerome Loving, publisher Bryce Milligan and award-winning poet Michael Waters will speak at the panel discussion. They will talk about Whitman and his life, work and long-standing influence in the writing world.
Dr. Loving was a Fulbright Scholar in Russia and Paris. He has received major grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. Dr. Loving has taught at Texas A&M since 1973.
Milligan has received the Gemini Ink Award for Literary Excellence and St. Mary's University's Presidential Art of Peace Award. He is the author of several volumes of poetry, books for children, historical novels for young adults, and thousands of magazine and newspaper articles and reviews. Milligan has been the publisher, editor and designer for Wings Press since 1994. He is currently a national panelist/master artist for the National Young Arts Foundation.
Waters is the recipient of several Pushcart Prizes. He has published numerous books of poetry, including Celestial Joyride, Gospel Night and Darling Vulgarity, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Waters’ poems have appeared in American Poetry Review, Yale Review and Rolling Stone. He teaches at Monmouth University and the Drew University MFA Program in Poetry and Poetry in Translation.
At 7 p.m. Thursday, May 5, the annual Walt Whitman gathering of poets at Black Walnut Café will feature more than 20 distinguished poets from Texas and the United States including, Michael Waters and Bryce Milligan. Each will read his or her favorite Walt Whitman poem and his or her own works.
The Walt Whitman Birthday
Celebration is in partnership with the Writers in Performance reading program dedicated to bringing
the most distinguished minds and their bright visions to the citizens of
Montgomery County through thought-provoking literature and cultural diversity. This
event is made possible by the partnerships between LSC-Montgomery, SWIRL
Literary & Arts Journal, the Conroe Commission on Arts & Culture, the
Greater Conroe Arts Alliance, and the Montgomery County Literary Arts Council.
For more information contact Dave Parsons at 936.524.6537 or david.m.parsons@lonestar.edu.
LSC-Montgomery is located at 3200 College Park Drive, one-half mile west of Interstate 45, between Conroe and The Woodlands. For more information about the college, call 936.273.7000, or visit LoneStar.edu/Montgomery.
Known for its leadership, innovation and steadfast commitment to student
success, Lone Star College provides high-quality academic transfer and
workforce education / career training programs to more than 83,000 credit
students each semester, and a total enrollment of 95,000 students. LSC is
training tomorrow’s workforce today
and redefining the community college experience to promote student success and
economic prosperity. Stephen C. Head, Ph.D., is the chancellor of LSC, the
largest institution of higher education in the Houston area, which consists of
six colleges, eight centers, two university centers, Lone Star Corporate
College and LSC-Online. To learn more visit LoneStar.edu.