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Poet John McCarthy to read from his latest collection; Great Decisions to address 'Cyber Conflicts'

by Barry McNamara

Monmouth, IL (02/21/2019) —

Poet John McCarthy to read as part of Writers@Monmouth series on Feb. 25

When you ask John McCarthy why he writes poems, he's quick to point to the landscape that has shaped him.

In McCarthy's words, he writes "to showcase and illuminate the diverse experiences of Midwestern life that are hiding among its prairies, fields and cities, as well as venerate its often underappreciated beauty."

Monmouth College students and community members will have a chance to hear from McCarthy at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 25 in the Mellinger Teaching Learning Center when he reads from his new collection of poetry, Scared Violent like Horses.

His second collection, McCarthy's latest volume was chosen by notable writer Victoria Chang as the winner of the Jake Adam York Prize, sponsored by literary publishing leader Milkweed Books.

The poems in this new collection, along with McCarthy's earlier Ghost County, challenge the notion of "anything outside of Chicago as agricultural flyover country." Now a Chicago resident himself, McCarthy wants to complicate and reconsider this often oversimplified region.

"It is the expansiveness of the Midwest - Illinois, specifically," he said, "which has allowed me to explore the deep themes of trauma, grief and loss, as well the intersections of race and class."

In addition to his afternoon reading, McCarthy will meet with students studying contemporary American poetry and members of a Reflections class on masculinity, as well as interact with environmental studies students.

Associate Professor of English David Wright will host the visiting writer.

"I'm excited, again, to have a poet of John's caliber here to engage with our student writers and readers," said Wright. "Already, the upper division poetry students have been eagerly reading his work and developing questions to ask him during our class session."

Wright pointed out the value of having working writers on campus: "Literature is a living thing, and there's no better way to understand that than to have writers shaped by this very place who are making challenging, meaningful art from their experience. "

McCarthy will have copies of his work for sale at the reading. For more information about the poet himself, visit https://johnmccarthylit.wordpress.com/. For information about Writers@Monmouth visit, contact Wright at dcwright@monmouthcollege.edu.

'Cyber conflicts' is next topic for Great Decisions at Monmouth College

Many of the topics in the Great Decisions series at Monmouth College focus on the latest developments in longstanding issues, such as the Middle East and the state of diplomacy.

But the next installment of the discussion series on Feb. 27 will address a new and continually developing threat, "Cyber Conflicts and Geopolitics."

Monmouth College communication studies professors Josh Hawthorne and Robert Hinck will introduce the topic at 7:30 p.m. in Room 276 of the College's Center for Science and Business.

Cyber conflict can include foreign interference in elections, industrial sabotage and attacks on infrastructure. Russia has been accused of interfering in the 2016 presidential elections in the United States, and China is highly committed to using cyberspace as a tool of national policy. Dealing with cyber conflict will require new ways of looking at 21st century warfare. Is the United States prepared to respond to such threats?

Called "America's largest discussion program on world affairs," Great Decisions is a nationwide program sponsored by the Foreign Policy Association, a non-partisan, non-governmental association that works to increase Americans' understanding of foreign policy issues.

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Poet John McCarthy will read from his new collection of poetry, "Scared Violent like Horses," on Feb. 25 at Monmouth College.

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