Parks Lanier

Professor Lanier received his AB at Pfeiffer College and his MA and PhD at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His teaching interests include British Romanticism, Appalachian studies, advanced grammar, the study of poetry, writing poetry, and composition. Originally, Dr. Lanier is from Georgia. At RU  he helped found the Highland Summer Conference in 1978, and has been very active in Appalachian Studies since then. For the past fifteen years, he has produced archival videotape interviews of visiting HSC novelists, poets, scholars, and musicians.  In 1988, he served as Program Chair for the ten-state regional Appalachian Studies Conference, and again for the 2005 Conference. For five years, he was president of the Appalachian Writers' Association, which honored him in 1998 for "Outstanding Contributions to Appalachian Literature." In 1991, he edited and contributed essays to The Poetics of Appalachian Space, which was published by the University of Tennessee Press. In 2001, the Appalachian Region Community Head Start program of southwest Virginia invited him to give its conference's keynote address and recognized his "outstanding efforts to preserve the Appalachian culture."  His poems and essays on Appalachian themes have appeared in such places as The Appalachian Journal, Now & Then The Appalachian Magazine, Blue Ridge Country and Appalachian Heritage.  

An avid Anglophile, Dr. Lanier has twice led students on tours to London, England and looks forward to doing so again. He has a large collection of art and history books about London and British Romanticism. He combines his interest in poetry and art by studying ekphrastic literature, especially poems inspired by paintings. He has developed and taught a Maymester ENGL 314 Special Topics course on this subject.

Dr. Lanier says, "The challenge of thinking globally and acting regionally is exciting both in the classroom and beyond. Whether speaking to students, to a community group in a nearby county, or to a writing workshop in a public school, I always try to make connections between our region and the world beyond. Radford University has a vital history in this respect, going all the way back to its early Ingles and Pocahontas Societies. Our 2010 centennial celebration should be a great occasion for reflecting on our past and energizing our service in the future." E-mail address: planier@radford.edu

Last updated: 08/02/2004