Cathy Smith Bowers (born 1949) is an American poet and professor. She teaches poetry in an M.F.A. program at

Queens University of Charlotte The Queens University of Charlotte is a private university in Charlotte, North Carolina. It has approximately 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students through the College of Arts and Sciences, the McColl School of Business, the Wayland H. Cato, ...

. Bowers was named by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Bev Perdue Beverly Eaves Perdue (born Beverly Marlene Moore; January 14, 1947) is an American businesswoman, politician, and member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party who served as the List of governors of North Carolina, 73rd Govern ...

as the sixth

North Carolina Poet Laureate The North Carolina Poet Laureate is the poet laureate for the US state of North Carolina. At first a life appointment, the term of office is now two years. The program is run by the North Carolina Arts Council. Laureates are appointed by the Governo ...

, 2010–2012. She has published five collections of poetry.

Biography

Early life and education

Bowers was born in 1949, in the town of

Lancaster, South Carolina The city of Lancaster () is the county seat of Lancaster County, South Carolina, United States, located in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area. As of the United States Census of 2010, the city population was 8,526. The city was named after the famou ...

. She went on to receive her

bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

degree in 1972 and

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

degree in 1976 (both in English) from

Winthrop University Winthrop University is a public university in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was founded in 1886 by David Bancroft Johnson, who served as the superintendent of Columbia, South Carolina, schools. He received a grant from Robert Charles Winthrop, ...

Rock Hill, South Carolina Rock Hill is the largest city in York County, South Carolina and the fifth-largest city in the state. It is also the fourth-largest city of the Charlotte metropolitan area, behind Charlotte, Concord, and Gastonia (all located in North Carolina, ...

. In 1984, Bowers also attended the International Graduate Summer School at Exeter College at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Career

Bowers is currently an instructor in poetry in the M.F.A. program in Creative Writing at Queens University in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. She has been an instructor at Queens since 1983.

Poet laureateship

In 2010, North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue appointed Bowers as the new North Carolina Poet Laureate to succeed

Kathryn Stripling Byer Kathryn Stripling Byer (November 25, 1944 – June 5, 2017), also called Kay Byer, was an American poet and teacher. She was named by Governor Mike Easley as the fifth North Carolina Poet Laureate from 2005 to 2009. She was the first woman to hol ...

. She was also the judge for the North Carolina Poetry Society's Poet Laureate Award.

Personal life

Bowers lives in

Tryon, North Carolina Tryon is a town in Polk County, on the southwestern border of North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,646. Located in the escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, today the area is affluent and a center f ...

. She "always wears

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

" because she stands six feet tall already. Many of the major events in her life work their way into Bower's poetry, such as being estranged from her father; having a brother die of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

, as well as another of drug and alcohol abuse; and having her second husband commit suicide.

Works

Bowers' poetry has appeared in various magazines and journals including ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''

The Georgia Review ''The Georgia Review'' is a literary journal based in Athens, Georgia. Founded at University of Georgia in 1947, the journal features poetry, fiction, essays, book reviews, and visual art. The journal has won National Magazine Awards for Fiction ...

'', ''

Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

'', ''

The Southern Review ''The Southern Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established by Robert Penn Warren in 1935 at the behest of Charles W. Pipkin and funded by Huey Long as a part of his investment in Louisiana State University. It publishes fiction ...

'', and ''

The Kenyon Review ''The Kenyon Review'' is a literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, US, home of Kenyon College. ''The Review'' was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959. ' ...

''. She has five collections of poetry published: * ''The Love That Ended Yesterday in Texas'' (Lubbock, Texas:

Texas Tech University Press The Texas Tech University Press (or TTUP), founded in 1971, is the university press of the American Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. See also * List of English-language book publishing companies * List of university presses ...

, 1992) * ''Traveling in Time of Danger'' (Iris Press, 1999) * ''A Book of Minutes'' (Iris Press, 2004) * ''The Candle I Hold Up To See You'' (Iris Press, 2009) * ''Like Shining from Shook Foil'' (Press 53, 2010) Bowers' essay "A Moment of Intensity" was featured in Poet’s Market, 2007.

Awards and honors

Bowers' awards and honors include: * 1990 –

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

Foundation Award for Young Writers * 2002 – J.B. Fuqua Distinguished Educator Award, Queens University * 2006, 2007 – Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Award, North Carolina Poetry Society * 2010–2012 – North Carolina Poet Laureate * 2011 –

Savannah Book Festival The Savannah Book Festival is a literary festival held each February in Savannah, Georgia, and features authors as well as educational events. In the past, the festival has hosted best-selling authors Stephen King, James Patterson and David Baldacc ...

, guest author

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowers, Cathy Smith 1949 births Living people Poets from South Carolina American women poets People from Lancaster, South Carolina People from Tryon, North Carolina Poets Laureate of North Carolina Poets from North Carolina Queens University of Charlotte faculty Winthrop University alumni American women academics 21st-century American women