NOTED COLUMBIA STATE AUTHORS, THOMAS FLAGEL AND JEFF HARDIN EXPLORE THE PUBLISHING WORLD

Two of Columbia State's most distinguished authors, Professors Thomas R. Flagel and Jeff Hardin will explore their work and how they have interacted with the publishing world in their talk, "In Print: A Discussion on Writing and Publishing," hosted by Columbia State's Lyceum Committee on Thursday, February 19 at 12:30 p.m. in the Ledbetter Auditorium, located in the Clement Building on the Columbia Campus. The discussion is complimentary and open to the public.

"For lovers of history and poetry, this will be an enlightening event," said Stuart Lenig, professor of speech and theatre at Columbia State. "Professor Hardin is as prolific as he is wise, and his work is a continuing flow of sentiments, feelings, and ruminations, while Professor Flagel has a humorous and whimsical view that serves him well in observations on our nation's turbulent history."

"It seems to me that if poems should do anything, they should confirm our intimacy - at least point us in that direction," says Hardin, whose works have been featured in nearly 300 publications.

Professor Hardin lectures in writing and creative writing and is a widely published and highly respected poet. He speaks frequently throughout the southern part of the United States, reading his poetry, discussing the writing life and recalling stories of his family, heritage, and his love of the heartland of Tennessee. He has published innumerable poems and poetry collections.

Hardin's first collection, Fall Sanctuary, won the 2004 Nicholas Roerich Prize from Story Line Press. He has written two chapbooks, Deep in the Shallows (GreenTower Press, 2002) and The Slow Hill Out (Pudding House, 2003). Recent poems appeared in Mid-American Review, Zone 3, Puerto del Sol, Smartish Pace, Poem, Potomac Review, The Café Review, and others. Hardin has been published in some of America's most distinguished literary journals including Ploughshares, The Gettysburg Review, and the prestigious Southern Review. He is featured on websites and radio programs. His poems have been featured in Poetry Daily online and Garrison Keillor has read his poems on The Writer's Almanac. Professor Hardin regularly hosts a panel at the Nashville Book Fair and lectures to writers across the South.

Flagel, a history professor, is in his first year at Columbia State and has published a variety of books on American History. He has an upcoming work, A History Buff's Guide to London (2009) and has previously published The History Buff's Guide to the Civil War (2003), The History Buff's Guide to World War II (2005), The History Buff's Guide to Gettysburg (2006), and The History Buff's Guide to The Presidents (2007). Raised in Iowa but having lived in Europe (Austria and the Czech Republic), Flagel is a well-rounded author that can both make his readers laugh and feel pain via his words. Concerning Gettysburg, he wrote, "never before or since in the history of the North American continent had so many people died in combat during so brief a period of time."

Flagel has taught at a number of colleges including Kirkwood Community College in Iowa. He has contributed many essays, lectures, and talks in recent years and appeared on local and national radio and television programs. His ancestors fought in the Civil War, and he is fascinated by little known trivia of American history. More can be found about Professor Flagel at his website http://www.thomasflagel.com.

For more information, contact Professor Stuart Lenig with the Lyceum Committee at 931-540-2877.