Kentucky Great Writers 2016 05 24: Jay McCoy, Jason Howard, Gwyn Hyman Rubio

Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning

The poems of  The Occupation  deal with homosexual relationships and the threat of HIV.  Jay McCoy  instructs the class “Writing for Recovery” at the NAMI Participation Station in Lexington, Kentucky. He is a Lexington-based poet and visual artist with deep roots in Eastern Kentucky as well as the general manager for the Morris book shop and co-founder of the  Teen Howl Poetry Series . Jason Howard ‘s  writings have spanned the careers of such musicians as Carly Simon, Dwight Yoakam, Ricky Skaggs, Jim James, and Jean Ritchie.  A Few Honest Words: The Kentucky Roots of Popular Music  (University Press of Kentucky) explores the many genres in which Kentucky musicians have helped contribute, from folk and jazz to hip hop and gospel. Because  Gwyn Hyman Rubio ‘s father, a writer, had a fatal heart attack at 39, she stayed away from the profession as long as she could. In 1983, she realized her calling and was accepted into the MFA Program at Warren Wilson College. Her writing tends to explore human relationships, especially those of children and parets.  Love and Ordinary Creatures  (Ashland Creek Press) is from the perspective of a cockatoo and explores the bird’s relationship with his caretaker. Text copied, with permission, from the Accents Publishing blog . Original post available here .