In 2016, West Chester University will resume hosting the West Chester University Poetry Conference, after a one-year hiatus due to unexplained and a possibly controversial sequence of events. At the helm of the conference will be new program director, poet R.S. “Sam” Gwynn.
The West Chester University Poetry Conference was founded by Michael Peich and Dana Gioia in 1994, with the first conference having 85 poets and scholars in attendance.
Today, the conference is a world-renowned four-day event. Over 300 poets and poetry scholars from across the country and the world, travel here to West Chester to share their affinity for poetry. They hone their knowledge and skills through intensive workshops, with emphasis on traditional craft.
Gwynn, 67, currently resides in Beaumont, Texas, where he has taught at Lamar University for over 40 years. He has taken part in the annual conference for 19 of the 21 years it has been running, and he looks forward to taking on the challenge of his new assignment.
“I want to make the conference so attractive in its offerings that it’ll be hard for people not to come,” said Gwynn.
He continued that the conference has established itself with an emphasis on the craft of poetry, and he wants to “build on the success of former years.”
The new assignment will be difficult, and possibly controversial. After the Poetry Conference took a one year hiatus, many feared that it would not return in 2016–or ultimately, at all.
In Sept. 2014, the last director, Dr. Kim Bridgford, was reassigned to full time teaching without any notice or explanation. This decision was met with outrage and uproar among the poetry community, students, and faculty.
Dr. Lori Vermeulen, the West Chester University Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, declined to comment on the new director. In addition, Dr. Bridgford could not be reached for a comment.
Union measures are currently in process regarding Dr. Bridgford’s sudden reassignment.
Despite the circumstances, Gwynn awaits his new position with confidence and the challenges that it entails, because of the past controversy.
“I’m trying to reassure folks that I want it to come back stronger than ever,” Gwynn said. “Consequently, I am under more than normal pressure to put on a hell of a show in June. And I’m planning on doing that.”
The finalized schedule for the 2016 conference is set for June 8-11. Until then, Gwynn’s current goals involve spreading awareness to students and faculty around the WCU campus about the event and raising money for said event.
Aidan Paggao is a third-year student majoring in marketing with a minor in international business. He can be reached at AP814179@wcupa.edu.