The College of Southern Marylands Fall Connections series will showcase poet, fiction writer and memoirist Doug Anderson beginning at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 7, at the Leonardtown Campus, Building A, Auditorium, 22950 Hollywood Road, Leonardtown.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Anderson served as a Navy Corpsman with a Marine Corps infantry unit during the Vietnam War, after which he attended the University of Arizona and studied acting.
As a former Navy corpsman, he was inspired to write of his time in Vietnam, though his work then and since covers many contemporary issues and concerns, as well as deeply personal material. Anderson has written three books of poems, “Bamboo Bridge, The Moon Reflected Fire, which won the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and Blues for Unemployed Secret Police, which received a grant from the Eric Matthieu King Fund of the Academy of American Poets. In addition to his memoir, “Keep Your Head Down: Vietnam, The Sixties, and a Journey of Self-Discovery,” Anderson has also written film scripts, fiction and criticism. He is currently working on a novel about human trafficking.
Anderson earned a PhD from the University of Connecticut. He has received various awards for his work, including the Virginia Quarterly Review Poets & Writers, Inc., the Massachusetts Artists Foundation and the MacDowell Colony. He has also taught at Mount Wachusett Community College, Emerson College and at the William Joiner Center of the University of Massachusetts.
“Since Anderson served in the Vietnam War, we hope that his presentation will speak to the experiences of our present veterans and encourage them to tell their own stories, said the Literary Series Coordinator Wayne Karlin, a Languages and Literature professor at CSM. At the same time, we hope that he will help break down the walls of perception between veterans and non-veterans.”
The Connections series offers the Southern Maryland community a chance to hear from and meet established and local writers personally. In addition to the readings, the Connections magazine is a regional literary journal published twice a year that features poems, stories, artwork and photography of Southern Maryland. Publication readings take place in December and May each year. To be considered for the fall 2014 issue, the deadline for submission is Oct. 31.
Tickets for the Connections reading are $3 through advance sale at the CSM box office and $3 at the door with a student ID. General admission at the door is $5. For tickets, contact the box office at bxoffc@csmd.edu or call 301-934-7828. For information on Connections, study guides and author links visit www.csmd.edu/connections. Featured books are available at any CSM College Store or online at www.csmd.edu/CollegeStore.
Calendar
CSM Connections Literary Series: Doug Anderson. 7:30 p.m., Nov. 7. College of Southern Maryland, Leonardtown Campus, Building A, Auditorium, 22950 Hollywood Road, Leonardtown. Poet Doug Anderson will be reading selections from his poetry collections, The Moon Reflected Fire and Blues for Unemployed Secret Police. As a former Navy corpsman, much of his work is inspired by his time spent in Vietnam. $3 in advance, $5 at the event, $3 with a CSM student ID. Connections@csmd.edu, 301-934-7864, http://www.csmd.edu/connections/.
CSMs Connections Literary Series: Deadline to Submit to Connections Magazine. Oct. 31. Open to students, faculty, staff and members of the local community. Poetry, short stories, and black and white photography are accepted for consideration. Visit www.csmd.edu/Connections/guidelines.html for guidelines. Email submissions to Connections@csmd.edu.