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Charleston County Public Library – Baxter-Patrick James Island, SC Library

A National Poetry Month Special Event
Baxter-Patrick James Island Library

Acclaimed southern storyteller Pat Conroy (1945–2016) wrote that “the poets of the world occupy a place of high honor in my city of books.” In this National Poetry Month program, Pat Conroy Literary Center executive director Jonathan Haupt will explore Conroy’s lifelong relationship with poetry as a reader, as a self-described “failed poet,” and as a writer who found a creative outlet for the rhythms of poetry in his iconic lyrical and descriptive prose. Conroy’s love of language blossomed from an early love of poetry, and even in his final hours, he was immersed in the beauty and power of verse. Through discussion of Pat’s poetic influences and through published and unpublished examples of his writings spanning the breadth of his life, this presentation fosters a new appreciation for Conroy’s admiration of poetry, for his dedication to the writing craft, and for the myriad ways in which poetry shines through his storied prose.

This event is free and open to the public.

Website: Facebook Event Page

About our Presenter:

Jonathan Haupt is the executive director of the Pat Conroy Literary Center, the founding director of the annual Pat Conroy Literary Festival, and the former director of the University of South Carolina Press. With novelist and artist Nicole Seitz, he is co-editor of the award-winning anthology Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy, Haupt’s articles, book reviews, and author interviews have appeared in the Charleston Post and Courier, Beaufort Lowcountry Weekly, Beaufort Lifestyle magazine, Pink magazine, Shrimp, Collards & Grits magazine, Fall Lines, Southern Writers magazine’s Suite T blog, and the Conroy Center’s Porch Talk blog. He serves as an associate producer and consultant to the SCETV author interview program By the River, on the board of directors of the South Carolina Academy of Authors and the Friends of South Carolina Libraries, on the American Writers Museum affiliates steering committee, and on the South Carolina Humanities advisory committee.


This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

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