- Featured
- Arts
Amarillo Poet to Kick Off WT’s New Dorothy Patterson Poetry Series
Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu
CANYON, Texas — A West Texas A&M University alumni and rising Amarillo author will help launch the new Dorothy Patterson Poetry Series.
Seth Wieck will read his work during a Zoom gathering at 7 p.m. Nov. 4. Attendees can email Dr. Eric Meljac, assistant professor of English and director of creative writing, at emeljac@wtamu.edu for a link.
Meljac has hosted in-person poetry readings with some of the nation’s leading poets for the past five years, but the ongoing pandemic caused him to cancel this year’s planned event.
“I had to switch gears and figure out how to do a Zoom reading, and Seth came to mind immediately,” Meljac said. “I am always taken by his skill with how words sound when strung together, his mingling of biblical or spiritual references to everyday life, and his honest and gritty connection to our landscape. He was a natural choice to inaugurate The Dorothy Patterson Poetry Series.”
The series is named for Amarillo philanthropist Dorothy Patterson, a longtime donor to Meljac’s poetry events.
“Amarillo is richer because of Dorothy Patterson's support of poetry. I'm honored to read in an event named for her,” Wieck said.
Wieck is a 2003 WT alumni whose stories, poetry, and essays can be found in various publications, including Narrative Magazine, Curator, and Fathom Magazine, as well as The Broad River Review where his story “Tender Mercies of the Wicked” won the Ron Rash Award in Fiction. He has worked as a butcher, a farmer, a dishwasher, a technical writer, and an ad copywriter. He now teaches and remodels houses in Amarillo, where he lives with his wife and three children.
Cultivating an appreciation for the arts is an important aspect of the University’s long-term plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
About West Texas A&M University
WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. With enrollment of more than 10,000, WT offers 60 undergraduate degree programs, 38 master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 15 men’s and women’s athletics programs.
—WTAMU—