Five years ago, the world hit a curveball. It was announced that Covid-19 was continuously spreading. People were instructed to stay inside as much as possible to prevent themselves from getting sick.
In all the time spent inside, many were gaining new hobbies and skills, especially writers. Many spent their time inside to start new projects, finish old ones and create new ideas. Author Kiese Laymon spent his time revising and republishing two of his past works.
Zone 3, a literary journal and press, and Austin Peay State University’s Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts have been working on a Visiting Writers series. On March 20 at 7:00 p.m. at Mabry Hall, Laymon got to be a part of that series. He got the opportunity to invite students and the Clarksville community for a reading, Q&A and book signing.
Who is Laymon?
Laymon is a black southern author and English and creative writing professor at Rice University from Jackson, Mississippi. His first pieces “How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in American,” an essay collection and “Long Division,” a novel, were published in 2013. Later, he went back and made revisions and edits to the two works and republished them in 2020 and 2021. His next book release will be a picture book called “City Summer, Country Summer” on April 1, 2025.
The Reading and Review of Pieces
The first piece that Laymon read was titled “Mississippi: A poem, in days.” The piece was written in a journalistic, almost diary style. Laymon wrote about his first fourteen days in quarantine, his challenges with his family, challenges with his race and challenges with his mental health.
The second piece was a shorter piece titled “Letter From Home.” It was written in a mix between a letter format and a classic book format. Laymon wrote about his struggle with his health, his cancer diagnosis and his race.
Both of Laymon’s pieces were both emotional and powerful. His writer makes people think, cry, laugh and everything in between. Readers can connect to his writing and the topics he discusses in many different ways no matter how big or small the topic or aspect.
Q & A and Book Signing | PHOTOS
Where to find his work
Laymon’s essays and poems are in multiple of the books and collections he has written. His books can be found on his website https://bittersoutherner.com/kiese-laymon-letter-from-home . Many of his pieces can also be found in literary magazines and journals and his books can also be bought on Amazon and most bookstores.
Zone 3 Visiting Writers and Future Events
With the spring semester wrapping up, Zone 3 will be hosting a Writers Festival. The events will be held from April 10-12 with the opening night with their final visiting writer, Dustin M. Hoffman. The full schedule of the events can be found https://www.apsu.edu/ceca/partnerships/writers-festival.php .
