Grace Ostrosky, Arts and Life Editor
“I write to be heard,” J. Drew Lanham said toward the end of his reading, answering questions from the audience.
Lanham presented at the Beck Series in collaboration with biology, Black studies, and sustainability and environmental studies departments.
The event was hosted in Higley Hall on March 3. Surrounded by Denison students, staff and faculty, and members of the Granville community, Lanham read from his poetry collection, “Joy is the Justice We Give Ourselves,” and essay collection, “The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature.”
A native of Edgefield, South Carolina, Lanham is an alumni distinguished professor of wildlife ecology and master teacher at Clemson University. “The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature” received the Reed Award from the Southern Environmental Law Center and the Southern Book Prize, and was a finalist for the John Burroughs Medal.
He is a birder, naturalist, and hunter-conservationist who has published essays and poetry in publications including “Orion,” “Audubon,” “Flycatcher,” and “Wilderness.”
Lanham opened his reading with “Some Advice,” a poem from his collection that he said was an “exercise in self-preservation.”
As a child, Lanham’s joy came from nature and, later in life, nature assisted in his healing of trauma.
Additionally, he read from what he explained as a “decade anniversary edition” of his essay collection. The excerpt showcased vulnerability, as Lanham shared his childhood punishments and tumultuous relationships with family members.
“[I write] not to undo mistakes but to move on with life,” said Lanham about vulnerability in writing.
“I rewrite [“The Home Place”] every time I do a reading,” Lanham said, noting aspects of the collection that he would change or improve upon now, after a decade of publication and two decades of conceptualizing the collection.
He urged audience members not to “discount their stor[ies],” that while writers must answer for what they write and put out into the world through publication, they should not censor their stories for the benefit of others.
“Trust yourself and your intuition as a writer,” Lanham said.
Earlier in the day, Lanham had attended classes and a lunch with students to answer questions and engage in conversation.
“I enjoyed the lunch [with Lanham]…he is very passionate about what he studies,” said Addison Fransen ‘28, a double major in creative writing and sustainability and environmental studies. “It was interesting hearing about his experiences.”