Poets Ray McManus and Ed Madden join forces at the Columbia Museum of Art

The Write Around Series mixes poetry with art in the galleries Sunday, September 16 | 3:00 p.m.

The Columbia Museum of Art announces The Write Around Series with Ed Madden and Ray McManus, the latest initiative in its new Writer-in-Residence program. On Sunday, September 16, at 3:00 p.m., award-winning poets Madden and McManus launch the series with work they have written inspired by the dynamic themes of the newly redesigned collection galleries.

Ed Madden (left) and Ray McManus (right).

“By grouping the art thematically rather than chronologically, the new collection galleries create conversations, not just among the works of art, but also among patrons,” says McManus. “Writing that responds to the artwork—some of it displayed now for the first time—is another kind of conversation across forms of art, and one that can only amplify and extend the conversation created by the new gallery designs.”

As Writer-in-Residence, McManus is charged with creating programs that promote literary art as a way to contemplate and connect with visual art. The Write Around Series is year-long program that invites writers to create and share original poetry and prose inspired by the art in the CMA.

An associate professor of English at the University of South Carolina in Sumter, McManus teaches creative writing, Irish literature, and Southern literature. He is the director of the Center for Oral Narrative housed in the Division of Arts and Letters. In 2014, he joined the editorial board for the Palmetto Poetry Series, and he maintains partnerships with the SC Arts Commission and local arts agencies. McManus is the founder of Split P Soup, a creative writing outreach program that places writers in schools and communities in South Carolina, and the director of the creative writing program at the Tri-District Arts Consortium. His current project is Re:Verse, a teaching initiative that works with educators and administrators to develop effective strategies to bring more emphasis to creative writing in standard education.

Madden is the author of four books of poetry, most recently Ark, a memoir in poetry about helping with his dying father’s hospice care. He is a professor of English and director of the Women’s & Gender Studies Program at the University of South Carolina. He has been the inaugural poet laureate for the City of Columbia since 2015.

“I’m excited to launch The Write Around Series, and I’m especially excited to launch this program with the poet laureate of Columbia, Ed Madden!” says McManus. “I can’t wait to see what we come up with together!”

Free with membership or admission.

This program is supported by South Carolina Humanities.

For more information, visit columbiamuseum.org.