Shelby Stephenson

Location: R.A. Fountain

From our promo for this event:

Poet and musician Shelby Stephenson will be at Fountain General Store on Saturday afternoon to meet people and to autograph copies of his poetry collections.

Stephenson, a Johnston County native, has published 10 books of poetry, including Possum, his book-length ode to its namesake.

He is familiar to folks in Fountain as one of the Stephenson Brothers and Linda, the popular bluegrass band which returns to Fountain General Store on December 15. WIth his wife, Linda Stephenson, he has also recorded a CD of Hank Williams songs.

Stephenson grew up on a Johnston County farm near Benson. He graduated from UNC-CH in 1960 and earned his PhD from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1974. He is professor of English at Pembroke University, where he has edited the Pembroke Review since 1979.

His poetry has remained close to his rural roots, and the subjects he returns to most often are farming and the hardscrabble lives endured and enjoyed by eastern Carolina farmers.

Stephenson received the NC Award for Literature in 2001 and was honored by the NC Writers Conference for his lifetime achievements in literature in 2002.

He will be available to sign copies of his books from 4- 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 25.

Tags: autographing, literary, poetry reading