(January O’Neil)
By Tom Robinson
As a freshman at Old Dominion University, January Gill O’Neil believed she would study economics and pursue a career as a small-business owner.
How her path redirected seems a kind of poetic justice.
“I took an 8 a.m. econ class and didn’t do very well,” O’Neil said. “I knew I liked creative writing. And I’d always been good at English.”
So O’Neil refocused from numbers to letters. She tutored under such ODU poets of the time as Toi Derricotte and the visiting Ruth Stone, and graduated in 1990 with an English degree.
Twenty-five years later, O’Neil is a widely published poet, an assistant professor of English, and executive director of the Massachusetts Poetry Festival.
But the Massachusetts Festival isn’t the one most on O’Neil’s mind at the moment. Rather, it is her appearance Monday, Oct. 5 at 12:30 p.m. as the first featured artist of Old Dominion’s 38th annual literary festival.
With the theme “A Place to Stand,” which was taken from an Archimedes quote, the festival begins with a welcoming reception and gallery display Sunday, Oct. 4 and runs through Thursday, Oct. 8, with most readings taking place at the Chandler Recital Hall in the Diehn Center for the Performing Arts.
O’Neil is among 14 authors scheduled to appear. The impressive lineup includes two members of ODU’s department of English, John McManus and Michael Pearson, who will read from their published work at 2 p.m. on Tues., Oct. 6, as well as noted humorist, novelist, poet and radio host Garrison Keillor.
Keillor’s appearance Monday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m. will be in the Big Blue Room at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. It is a ticketed event due to limited seating. Free tickets may be obtained at the University Theater box office, ODUArtstix.com or at 757-683-5305.
Accomplished Haitian American author and social activist Edwidge Danticat will close the festival with a 7:30 p.m. reading Oct. 8 in the North Cafeteria of Webb University Center as part of the Old Dominion President’s Lecture Series.
O’Neil, who was raised in Norfolk and graduated from Norfolk Catholic High School, said she is proud to be included on the roster, and even more so to be invited to read in her hometown for the first time.
“It’s one thing to be asked to read somewhere,” she said from home in Beverly, Mass. outside Boston where O’Neil is an assistant professor of English at Salem State University. “But to come back to Old Dominion, where the first inklings of writing all began, is thrilling.”
O’Neil will read from her compilations “Underlife” (2009) and “Misery Islands” (2014), both published by CavanKerry Press. The audience, she said, will include her preteen son and daughter who will travel with her, but also her parents and other relatives who still reside in Norfolk.
“It’s always exciting when one of our alums makes good,” said Janet Peery, the author and ODU English professor who co-chairs the festival with senior English lecturer Katherine Jackson.
“We thought Jan was a natural choice for our festival,” Peery added. “Despite its difficulty and the tough balancing act it can be, she’s living the life of the writer and will be an inspiration to students who share the desire. She’s proof that it can be done.”
O’Neil has composed poignant poems about love, sex, family and divorce, but says she often tries to capture the smaller, “everyday” moments of life.
“I think poetry is equivalent to taking a snapshot,” O’Neil said. “It’s a moment in time. It doesn’t tell the whole story, but it’s my perspective of what I see.”
O’Neil graduated from ODU in 1990 and earned a Master of Fine Arts from New York University. Her first collection, “Underlife,” was a finalist for book of the year from Foreword Reviews. Her poem “Chocolate” (below) was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
In a dark time
there is always chocolate.
Each bite is the perfect bite,
sweeping over the hemispheres
of the brain like a lunar eclipse.
Otherworldly in its bitter sweetness,
it awakens some hunger,
some growl in you that can’t be sated –
you feed it and it feeds you.
It lingers on the tongue’s tiny alcoves
leading you into some momentary depravity,
into desire and longing and sin.
No one can stop you in this place
infused with darkness,
and what you cannot explain
you accept as indulgence
long after it melts.
Since 2012, O’Neil has directed the Massachusetts Poetry Festival in Salem, which annually showcases about 100 poetry readings and workshops.
Teaching, writing and running the festival keep her busy, but O’Neil said she thrives on “looking for the next thing. I feel very lucky and grateful. I’ve worked really hard, and I continue to work really hard.
“I love poetry, I love how it changes, and I love how writers now have more ways to get their work out without having to go through a major publisher,” she continued. “I just wish artists in general were recognized financially and publicly for their contributions.”
ODU has held its literary festival every year since 1978. Past festivals have featured such noted authors as William Styron, Ann Beattie, John McPhee, Gwendolyn Brooks, Robert Pinsky, Rita Dove, Allen Ginsberg, Charles Johnson, Derek Walcott, Susan Sontag, and George Plimpton.
This year’s lineup of featured readers, their biographies and the entire schedule of events can be found on the 38th Annual Literary Festival website.
Keillor to Make First Appearance at ODU Literary Fest
Garrison Keillor, the humorist, author and longtime radio host of “A Prairie Home Companion,” will read from selected works as part of Old Dominion University’s 38th annual Literary Festival.
Keillor’s reading, at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 5, will be held in the Big Blue Room of the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
Keillor is a friend to ODU and has made numerous appearances on campus in recent years, including a live broadcast in 2013 of his radio program from the Constant Center. He is making his first appearance at the Literary Festival.
Keillor has announced his plans to step down next July as host of “A Prairie Home Companion,” although he has said he will continue as the show’s executive producer.
Keillor’s reading is free and open to the community, but because of limited seating in the Big Blue Room, tickets will be required for entry.
The free tickets are available from the ODU Theater Box Office at 4600 Hampton Blvd., online at ODUArtsTix.com, and by phone at 757-683-5305. There is a limit of two tickets per customer.
Danticat Lecture to Close Literary Festival
Acclaimed Haitian author and activist Edwidge Danticat will speak at Old Dominion on Thursday, Oct. 8 to conclude the 38th Annual Literary Festival.
Danticat’s appearance at 7:30 p.m. in the North Cafeteria of Webb Center is part of the President’s Lecture Series. The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited.
Guests are asked to RSVP to this address.
“Danticat has long been on our wish list,” said Janet Peery, English professor and festival co-director with senior lecturer Katherine Jackson. “We are thrilled the President’s Office is sponsoring her for this year’s literary festival.
A MacArthur Fellow, Danticat is a powerful and celebrated voice in contemporary fiction. She has written 10 books, including the memoir “Brother, I’m Dying” and her latest novel, “Claire of the Sea Light.” Her honors include the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Story Prize, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.
Danticat published her first novel, “Breath, Eyes, Memory” at age 25. It was selected for Oprah’s Book Club, and Danticat was immediately recognized as a shining, new literary talent.
A profound connection to her native Haiti not only informs Danticat’s work, it has made her a passionate advocate for Haitians at home and abroad.
“Her stories and novels are widely taught in MFA programs and creative writing courses across the country,” Peery said. “Her voice speaks lyrically and with color and magic about her home country, but also about its political struggles and the difficulty of being a woman in the unique social strictures of the place.”
Danticat, the married mother of two daughters, has received the MacArthur “Genius Grant” and her work has been published by The New Yorker and the Washington Post.
