2016 Carl Sandburg Writer-In-Residence Kimberly Simms



Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site and the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara are pleased to announce the 2016 Carl Sandburg Writer-in-Residence, Kimberly Simms. The writer for 2016 is a poet.

 Thanks to the Times-News in Hendersonville for publishing this wonderful article about Kimberly Simms - including a video! 

 http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20160413/NEWS/160419946

Meet Kimberly
A welcoming reception for Ms. Simms will be held on Monday, April 18 at the Henderson County Public Library Downtown in Hendersonville, NC from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. This reception is part of the North Carolina Writer's Network Open Mic Night. Kimberly will share a selection of her poetry along with other writers in the community. The public is welcome.
Ms. Simms will also appear at the Carl Sandburg Student Poetry Contest Celebration on Friday, April 15 at 7:00 p.m. at Blue Ridge Community College, Patton Building Room 150. The public is welcomed to join in the recognition of the students as they are honored for their winning poems.

The residency will last from April 6th to April 26th to coincide with National Poetry Month. As part of the program, Ms. Simms will work with fieldtrip groups, local schools and colleges, as well as make a number of public appearances. On April 7th, she will meet with local Greenville county students from Northwest Middle School as part of their fieldtrip to The Carl Sandburg House.
Most recently, Kimberly has been sharing her love of poetry in local Greenville schools as a teaching artist through the Metropolitan Arts Council’s SMART Arts program. In 2016, she was also added to the Humanities Council of South Carolina’s Literary Speaker's Bureau. Through this program, Kimberly Simms is available to visit your community group or school to share her literary knowledge and passion.

Kimberly Jane Simms has been sharing her poems with a variety of audiences since she started running poetry slams in her twenties. She was a member of the Greenville Slam Team that won the South East Regional Poetry Slam in 1998. Since then she has gone on to gain recognition from both esteemed literary editors, as well as live audiences. Her poetry has appeared in numerous literary journals such as Poem, The South Carolina Review, The Asheville Poetry Review, Kakalak, and Eclipse. She has been a featured performer and reader internationally at festivals and venues including the Battersea Arts Center London, The Institute of Contemporary Arts London, The Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, The Peace Center, and Artisphere, as well as numerous other arts establishments and universities. She is currently finishing her first young adult novel. You can learn more about her at her website www.kimberlysimms.com or follow her on twitter @witsendpoetry.