Author’s Reception for Colette Tennant, Ph.D.
February 11, 2010
The English Department is hosting an author’s reception for Colette Tennant, Ph.D., Professor of English and Humanities, in honor of her first poetry book: Commotion of Wings, published by Main Street Rag and released this month. The public is invited to join Corban personnel, students, and area poets in the Emitte Center on Corban’s campus, on February 24, 2010, at 7 p.m.
Her poetry collection contains 55 poems, with almost half of them having been previously published. The book was a finalist in a national contest of Main Street Rag. The poetry is divided into sections by a threefold theme: birth, death, and resurrection. Some poems are humorous, while others are gothic. One of her favorites is “October 2004 — New Owner Unearths Human Remains in Front Yard.”
Commotion of Wings is Tennant’s first poetry book. However, she has had more than 80 poems published during her fifteen-year tenure at Corban, as well as a literary criticism, Reading the Gothic in Margaret Atwood’s Novels, published in 2003. She holds an M.A. in English from Longwood University in Farmville, Va., and a Ph.D. in English from Ohio State University. Tennant’s dissertation was on gothic poetry.
A member of Oregon Christian Writers and a frequent presenter at conferences, Tennant is also a member and past vice president of Oregon State Poetry Association. Her first place poetry awards include the Kay Snow Contest of Willamette Writers and the Free Verse Contest of Oregon State Poetry Association. She has also won awards with the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS), and her poem “Creator God” was read for convocation of the 2009 NFSPS annual conference in Minnesota last year.
The author’s reception is free. Parking is also free. For more information, contact the English Department at 503-375-7005.
By Jenny Hirschfelder, Staff Writer, Office of Marketing & Communications
503-375-7005 | jhirschfelder@corban.edu
