Senior Forester McClatchey will deliver a public reading from his original poetry at 7 p.m. tonight in the Heritage Room of Mossey Library.
The reading, open to all campus, is sponsored by the English Department in honor of both McClatchey’s accomplishments as a poet during his four years at Hillsdale and for his recent acceptance to the University of Florida’s master of fine arts program. McClatchey, a double major in English and art while at Hillsdale, will be studying at the university under the mentorship of poet and critic William Logan.
“Logan’s known for being very opinionated,” Assistant Professor of English Dutton Kearney, a mentor of McClatchey’s since freshman year, said. “But maybe that fits in with Forester’s personality,” he added with a laugh.
Kearney said he has watched McClatchey’s growth as a poet and English major with joy over the past four years, ever since he taught him in Great Books I during McClatchey’s freshman year. Some of the pieces McClatchey wrote during Kearney’s 400-level course in Contemporary Christian Poetry last year ended up in his final application portfolio for the University of Florida.
“I’ve seen a remarkable improvement over the past four years,” Kearney said of McClatchey’s prowess as a student of literature and a poet. “He came in good and has become great — and on top of that, excellent. Moreover, he’s always maintained his own interests and personality throughout it all.”
