After being cut from Governor Nikki Haley’s inauguration in 2015, former South Carolina poet laureate Marjory Wentworth’s poem “One River, One Boat” serves as the titular piece for a collection of writings to be released by Evening Post Books on August 12, 2024. The book is available for preorder now.
This collection of occasional poems and essays includes those written about heartbreaking and joyous times in South Carolina’s history and Wentworth’s own life including the deaths of relatives, gubernatorial inaugurations, the Mother Emmanuel AME massacre, Hurricane Hugo, and more.
Congressman James Clyburn read Wentworth’s poem “One River, One Boat” into the Congressional record in 2015 after it was slashed from Haley’s inauguration, saying he “hope[s] the people of South Carolina, across the country, and peoples around the world are as touched by her words as I have been.”
The release of the book will be celebrated by a reading and book signing reception on September 12, 2024 at 6:00 in the evening at Circular Congregational Church, located at 150 Meeting Street. The event is open to the public.
Wentworth is the New York Times bestselling co-author of Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets, and the author of the prizewinning children’s story Shackles. Celebrated for her significant contributions to literature and social justice, she served as the poet laureate of South Carolina from 2003–2020. During her tenure as poet laureate, she published 4 collections of poems and received seven Pushcart Prize nominations. She is also the co-writer with Juan Mendez of Taking a Stand: The Evolution of Human Rights and We Are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel, with Herb Frazier and Dr. Bernard Powers, and co-editor with Kwame Dawes of Seeking: Poetry and Prose inspired by the Art of Jonathan Green.
After receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Art in Writing from New York University, she moved to South Carolina in 1989, where she taught courses in writing, social justice, and banned books at The College of Charleston. For further information about the author visit her website, marjorywentworth.com.
“One River, One Boat” will be available for purchase from customers online at eveningpostbooks.com.
