We are pleased to announce that Gardner Dorton, a 2019 graduate of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program, is our alumni of the month for May 2021. Currently, Mr. Dorton is a poet living in Knoxville, TN.
Mr. Dorton’s work can be found in Homology Lit, Crab Creek Review, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, Hobart, and Rattle.
Yet, we are extremely proud to announce that, most recently, his chapbook Stone Fruit won the Glass Poetry Press contest and was published in March 2021. This is an incredible honor for any poet.
MFA in Creative Writing Program Director Dr. Emily Rosko has this to say about Mr. Dorton’s Stone Fruit:
Gardner Dorton’s Stone Fruit is a book of remarkable conversations — mythical and autobiographical; conjured and relived. Roused by the difficult need to speak of one’s emergence from a shadow-filled past, these poems teeter on the edges of loneliness and human need. The miracle of this book is that the Dorton sneaks this darkness past us through a companionable voice. These poems remind us that the principle business of the lyric poem is heartbreak, and, more importantly, how we are able to sing even after.
When not writing poetry, Mr. Dorton works in Knoxville as a copywriter.
