FARMINGTON, ME (October 4, 2022)—The University of Maine at Farmington’s celebrated Visiting Writers Series is excited to present award-winning poet and UMF alumnus Jacques Rancourt as the popular program’s second reader of the season. Rancourt will read from his work at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, October 13, 2022, in The Landing in the UMF Olsen Student Center. The reading is free and open to the public and will be followed by a book signing with the author.
Jacques Rancourt
Rancourt’s “Brocken Spectre” (Alice James Books) examines the way the past presses up against the present, the ethics of memory and the dangers of romanticizing tragedy. “Brocken Spectre” was a 2019 Alice James Books Award Editor’s Choice. Rancourt’s debut collection “Novena” was awarded the Lena-Miles Wever Todd Prize in 2017. His work has also been featured in Agni, Boston Review. Georgia Review, and the New England Review among others.
Rancourt is a graduate of the University of Maine at Farmington’s lauded B.F.A. program in Creative Writing. He went on after graduation to earn the prestigious Wallace Stegner Fellowship from Stanford University as well as a Halls Emerging Artist Fellowship from the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, a Cite International des Arts residency and scholarships from the Bread Loaf Sewanee Writers’ Conferences.
He has traveled extensively internationally and as a first generation college graduate, attributes his professional career to his UMF mentors and liberal arts experience. He is currently teaching English at a private school in California.
“Brocken Spectre” is available for pre-purchase at the UMF University Store and Devany, Doak, and Garret Booksellers.
The Visiting Writer Series is sponsored by the UMF Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program.
More Information on the UMF Creative Writing Program
As the only Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program in the state of Maine and one of only three in all of New England, the UMF program invites students to work with faculty, who are practicing writers, in workshop-style classes to discover and develop their writing strengths in the genres of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Small classes, an emphasis on individual conferencing, and the development of a writing portfolio allow students to see themselves as artists and refine their writing under the guidance of accomplished and published faculty mentors.
Students can pursue internships to gain real-world writing and publishing experience by working on campus with The Sandy River Review, a student-run literary magazine; Ripple Zine, a feminist magazine; or The Farmington Flyer, a university newspaper.
Contact: Amy Neswald, UMF professor of creative writing, at 207-778-8024, or Amy.Nesald@maine.edu.
# # #
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Image: https://www.umf.maine.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1/2022/10/RP223-011.jpg
Photo Caption: Jacques Rancourt
Photo Credit: Submitted Image
