Dahlonega
Literary Festival
An Annual Celebration of Readers, Writers, and Books
William Walsh
William Walsh is the author of seven books, including the award-winning collection of poems, Fly Fishing in Times Square (Červená Barva Press). He is the director of the Reinhardt University undergraduate creative writing program and the MFA program. Widely published in some of the finest journals including Five Points, The Georgia Review, The Kenyon Review, and Literary Matters. Walsh is the editor of the James Dickey Review.
He is also known for his literary interviews, which have included: Czeslaw Milosz, Joseph Brodsky, A.R. Ammons, Richard Blanco, Eavan Boland, Pat Conroy, Harry Crews, James Dickey, Rita Dove, Mary Hood, Ursula Le Guin, Andrew Lytle, and Lee Smith.
Born in Jamestown, NY and raised in Lakewood until moving south in 1972, his historical family has resided in Chautauqua County since pre-Revolutionary War. A graduate of Georgia State University and Vermont College, he resides in Atlanta with his family. When not writing, he spends time with his family, enjoys competitive tennis and golf, as well as playing chess internationally.
Fly Fishing in Times Square
"Memory, nostalgia, a changing America. The magic of the animal world and the fragility of all creatures. An eschewing of what is manmade and crowded and impersonal. Comradeship, sports, and competition. Beautiful unfulfilled mothers, the difficult communication of fathers and sons. William Walsh's FLY FISHING IN TIMES SQUARE is a love letter to Americana, a love letter to America. Each of these exacting, spectacular poems come around the corner like long lost friends to kiss each reader on the cheek."--Denise Duhamel
"William Walsh's new poems prove, once again, that 'there's no controlling the world's divine mysteries. With amazing vision and linguistic skill Walsh explores the desires and realities of domestic life in America. Reading these fine poems we are drawn into a complex world of family where separation is natural, and memory provides the only means of holding on. These powerful poems never fail to lead us to ask the right questions about family and the wilderness, the world and our place in it."--David Bottoms
"With a keen and painterly eye, Bill Walsh masterfully renders the poetic, mysterious landscapes of memory and place, capturing his spiritual and physical self amid his intangible and tangible worlds that embrace us and become ours. I feel completely at home in these poems that question the very idea of home through imagery and language that is wise with longing, powerfully tender, and passionately at peace."--Richard Blanco
