Ross Named Editor of Sewanee Review

The University of the South announces the appointment of Adam Ross as the next editor of the Sewanee Review, succeeding George Core, who will retire this year after 43 years as editor. 

Ross graduated with departmental honors in English from Vassar College and holds an M.A. and M.F.A. in creative writing from Hollins University and Washington, respectively. He was a 2013–14 Hodder Fellow at Princeton University and later the Mary Ellen von der Heyden Fellow in Fiction at the American Academy in Berlin.

Ross’s fiction has appeared in the Berlin Journal, the Carolina Quarterly and the Sunday Times of London; his nonfiction has been published in the New York Times Book Review, the Daily Beast, Tin House, the Nashville Scene and the Wall Street Journal.

Ross’s novel “Mr. Peanut,” a 2010 New York Times Notable Book, was named one of the best books of the year by the New Yorker, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the New Republic and the Economist. It has been published in 16 countries. “Ladies and Gentlemen,” Ross’s short story collection, was included in Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2011; it includes “In the Base­ment,” a finalist for the 2012 BBC International Story Award.

Early Voting Begins in Tennessee

Early voting for the March 1 presidential preference primary, or “SEC primary,” began on Feb. 10 in Tennessee. Early voting runs Mondays through Saturdays and ends Tuesday, Feb. 23. Some counties will be closed on Monday, Feb. 15, for Presidents’ Day.

The easiest way for voters to find their early voting and election day polling locations, as well as view and mark sample ballots and access online election results, is through the <Go​VoteTN> app.

Tennessee’s 95 counties conduct early voting at their local election commission offices or at another location designated by the election commission. Some counties also offer early voting at satellite locations. 

Tennesseans voting early or on election day should remember to bring valid photo identification. A driver’s license or photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety is suggested.

GSA at FCHS Draws National Attention :: Rally of Support Planned for Feb. 8

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

The newly formed Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club at Franklin County High School (FCHS) has attracted national attention. The group held its first meeting on Jan. 19 under the direction of faculty advisor Jenny Turrell, FCHS art teacher and a resident of Sewanee.

A firestorm of comments followed on the social media outlet Facebook, both condoning and condemning the club. Said one critic, “the next thing you know they will have F.I.M.A. (Future ISIS Members of America).”

Under the 1984 Equal Access Act, all federally funded secondary schools must provide equal access to extracurricular clubs.

Citing the law, Director of Schools Amie Lonas said, “If we choose not to allow this club to be established, then we would be required to prohibit all noncurriculum clubs or give up federal funding.”

The GSA “is not a recruitment tool or trying to promote an alternate lifestyle,” Lonas stressed in response to critics. “It’s more about tolerance and trying to treat people equally and with respect.”

Prior to the Feb. 8 school board meeting at FCHS, there will be a rally in support of the GSA in the parking lot left of the entrance off Georgia Crossing Road. The board meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.; however, there is no item on the board’s agenda that deals with GSA or student clubs. Winchester Police Chief Dennis Young said critics of the GSA have not applied for a permit to demonstrate.

FCHS junior Allie Faxon of Sewanee said her involvement with the GSA has made her “feel more confident.” Student participation in the GSA has more than doubled since the first meeting, with nearly fifty students attending the meeting on Feb. 2.

But there has also been “backlash,” Faxon said. 

“Students who oppose the club have made straight-pride signs and paraded around LGBT students and defaced our signs. They have thrown water bottles and food at LGBT students,” she said.

School board policy clearly prohibits “any employee or any student to discriminate against or harass a student through disparaging conduct or communication that is sexual, racial, ethnic or religious in nature.”

Students have been encouraged to report harassment, but explaining the process Turrell said, “for reasons of privacy the administration cannot reveal to the accuser the administration’s response or the nature of any reprimand or disciplinary action.” GSA students have received more than 40 notes of encouragement, according to Turrell, as well as “offers of support, financial and otherwise, from individuals all over the country with similar life experiences.” She has also been contacted by the GLSEN (Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network) and other national organizations.

However, the GSA has no affiliation with any other group. 

“It’s a non-sponsored program driven by students with no outside affiliation,” Turrell insisted. “It’s important for the club to evolve as the students want it to evolve.”

As a small student club, the GSA is not equipped to handle large donations. To provide a vehicle for those who wish to make a financial contribution to support LGBT youth in rural Tennessee, the Cumberland Center for Justice and Peace created the LGBT Rural Youth Program Fund. Possible use of the resources includes providing scholarships to LGBT youth or to aid in establishing GSA clubs at other area high schools. For more information contact the LGBT Rural Youth Program Fund, P.O. Box 307, Sewanee, TN 37375 or visit <www.ccjp.org/projects>. 

Wiman to Receive 30th Aiken Taylor Award

Christian Wiman will be this year’s recipient of the Aiken Taylor Award in Modern American Poetry, the Sewanee Review announced recently. In addition to his writing, Wiman is also respected for translation, criticism and editing. The Review described him as “an important citizen in the republic of letters, not just for his creative work, but also for the ways he has fostered the careers of others—primarily as a landmark editor of Poetry magazine, joining the ranks of great past editors.”

At 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 18, in Convocation Hall, Vice-Chancellor John McCardell will make the presentation of the award, followed by a reading by Wiman and a reception. 

Adam Kirsch (poet and critic for the New Yorker, the New Republic and the New York Review of Books) will give a lecture on Wiman’s career at 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 17, in the McGriff Alumni House, also followed by a reception. [See story on page 4.]

Events celebrating Wiman and the Aiken Taylor Award in its 30th year will be presided over for the final time by George Core, editor of the Sewanee Review for the past 43 years.

Wiman has published six collections of poetry, including “Every Riven Thing” (2010), named one of the New Yorker’s best poetry collections of the year, and “Once in the West” (2014), a finalist for the National Book Critics’ 

Circle Award. Wiman has taught at Northwestern University, Stanford University, Lynchburg College and the Prague School of Economics. In 2003 he became editor of Poetry magazine. During his tenure, the magazine was honored with two National Magazine Awards. Wiman now teaches literature and religion at Yale Divinity School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.

Through the generosity of K. P. A. Taylor, the Sewanee Review established in 1986 an annual award honoring a distinguished American poet for the work of a career. Howard Nemerov was the first poet honored and was followed by Richard Wilbur, Anthony Hecht and W. S. Merwin. The other recipients of this prize include Maxine Kumin, Wendell Berry, Donald Hall, Louise Glück, Billy Collins, William Logan, Debora Greger, Dana Gioia and last year, Marie Ponsot.

County-wide Forum on Drug Abuse Prevention

A public forum about Franklin County’s problem of drug abuse and the best ways to combat it will be at 6 p.m., Monday, Feb. 8, in the community room of the Franklin County Annex, 855 Dinah Shore Blvd., Winchester. The event will begin with a chili supper.

Panelists will include Franklin County Sheriff Tim Fuller; Buddy Perry and Ron Bailey from the Drug Court Program; Mary Beth Best, who runs a local rehab center; and Tabatha Curtis with the Prevention Coalition.

This event is sponsored by the Franklin County Democratic Party. It is free and all are welcome.

Civic Association Returns to EQB for Feb. 17 Meeting

The first meeting for the Easter semester of the Sewanee Civic Association will be Wednesday, Feb. 17, at the EQB House. Please note the change of venue.

Social time with wine begins at 6 p.m., and a buffet dinner ($13) begins at 6:30 p.m. The business meeting begins promptly at 7 p.m., followed by a brief program. The program part of the evening is free and open to the public. 

The business portion of the meeting will include an update on the Sewanee Community Chest, park maintenance, the 2016–17 SCA budget and nominations for board positions. 

Latham Davis, president of Friends of South Cumberland, will present the program on the South Cumberland Park activities and the Fiery Gizzard trail reroute. Latham and his wife, Mary, moved to Sewanee in 1977, when he joined the University staff. 

Latham was elected to the board of the Friends of South Cumberland in 1998 and co-chaired with Mary Priestley the Friends’ Saving Great Spaces Campaign, which exceeded its $600,000 goal. He served as president from 2003 to 2005. He was elected again to the Friends’ board and then to vice-president in 2014, and became president last July.

This year, the Sewanee Civic Association is celebrating 108 years of civic opportunities in the community. The association brings together community members for social and community awareness. The SCA is the sponsoring organization for Cub Scout Pack 152 and was instrumental in placing the historical marker at Sewanee Elementary School and developing the Elliot Park project.

Since 1943, the Sewanee Civic Association has organized the Community Chest, which now raises tens of thousands of dollars yearly for local organizations. 

For more information, go to <www.sewaneecivic.wordpress.com>. 

Same Bank, New Name :: Citizens State Bank Is Now Tower Community Bank

After an extensive branding initiative, executives with Tower Community Bank recently unveiled its new name. 

“We’re a solid bank that’s here to stay,” Tower Community Bank President and CEO Geoffrey Post said. “We wanted a name that better reflects our years of stability, our position as a pillar of advocacy for this community and our reputation for being a valued advisor and friend.”

Bank executives chose the name Tower in part for the physical tower at several of the branches and for what a tower represents—a higher standard.

“We don’t consider ourselves just bankers; we’re community leaders, neighbors and partners who provide real financial solutions that make people’s lives better,” Post explained.

Tower Community Bank, formerly Citizens State Bank, was founded in 1970 and is a locally owned, locally managed bank serving the citizens of the Sequatchie Valley, Monteagle mountain and South Central Tennessee.

Bank executives say they wanted a name that spoke strongly to the financial institution’s core values of being strong, solid, permanent, committed and visionary. Bank officials are quick to point out that the bank is still the same— same employees, same branches, same website. Customers can continue to use their same checks, credit cards and debit cards. They can continue with their same automatic payments and direct deposits.