UNCW creative writing students highlight native plants for Poetry at the Arboretum
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Designed as a joint effort between UNCW and the New Hanover County Arboretum and Cooperative Extension, Poetry at the Arboretum celebrates the talent of creative writing students while showcasing the importance of native plant life within the Cape Fear Region.
The opening reception for this new installation will take place from 5:00 p.m. through 8:00 p.m. on Friday, May 2.
To kick things off, master’s students from the UNCW creative writing program will perform live poetry readings inspired by native plants. Their poems will highlight the different stages of a plant’s life cycle, how it contributes to its habitat, how humans have interacted with it, and what makes it important to the Cape Fear region.
These works are provided by student poets in UNCW professor Anna Lena Phillips Bell’s spring 2025 workshop on ecopoetics.
“The native plants of our region deserve special attention and care, and these poets have lavished them with both, writing inventive and well-researched poems for their chosen species,” Bell said. “I’m thankful to the staff of the Arboretum for making this project possible, and to UNCW for vital funding. I can’t wait to see my students’ work alongside the plants they’ve written about, and to hear them share it aloud.”
Registration for this event is free and you sign up here.
