Award-winning poet and musician Stephen Kampa, a member of the Carleton Class of 2005, will appear at the College on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 4 p.m. in the Gould Library Athenaeum. Kampa will read from and sign copies of his poetry collections, which will be available for purchase at the event.
Kampa was born in Missoula, Montana and grew up in Daytona Beach, Florida. He received a BA in English literature from Carleton College in 2005, and an MFA in poetry from the Johns Hopkins University. His first book, Cracks in the Invisible, won the 2010 Hollis Summers Poetry Prize and the 2011 Gold Medal in Poetry from the Florida Book Awards. His poems have also been awarded the Theodore Roethke Prize, first place in the River Styx International Poetry Contest, and two Pushcart nominations. His most recent book, Bachelor Pad, appeared this spring from The Waywiser Press. He currently divides his time between teaching poetry at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida and working as a musician.
Kampa has been playing harmonica for fifteen years and was recently named the 2012 Florida Harmonica Championships Overall Champion. He currently fronts his own band, Stephen Kampa and the Pickups, and has worked as the harmonica player for a variety of bands, including Robert “Top” Thomas and the Swamp Kings, Surround Sound, Victor Wainwright and the WildRoots, and the Highway Flyers. He also works as a session player for WildRoots Records. His harmonica stylings can be heard on Robert “Top” Thomas’s debut album, The Town Crier.
More at www.stephenkampa.com.
This event is sponsored by the Carleton College Department of English. For more information, including disability accommodations, call (507) 222-4322. The Athenaeum is located in the Gould Library, located off College Street on the Carleton campus. Parking is also available via Highway 19 in Northfield.
