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Mitchell Douglas

Assistant Professor of English

"I was changed, forever changed," says poet Mitchell L.H. Douglas, assistant professor of English at IUPUI, of his experience at the 2007 Cave Canem Fellowship, a network of established and emerging black writers. He says the intense one-week summer workshop refocused his eye for revision and provided the opportunity to develop relationships with faculty mentors like Pulitzer Prize winner and New York University Professor, Yusef Komunyakaa.

Literary mentorship, vital to Douglas' work as a poet since his undergraduate days at the University of Kentucky, began with a group of student and faculty poets who would gather to share their work at the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center. Douglas says it was an informal group until Frank X Walker came to them with the idea to name the group the "Affrilachian Poets." They agreed naming the group was important because of the lack of identity for black writers in the Appalachian region. Because the members of the Affrilachian Poets had a wide range of experience and skill, members like Professor Nikky Finney became mentors to those like Douglas, then a sophomore.

Members of the Affrilachian Poets have benefited from this esteemed network of peers and mentors; today many are acclaimed and published poets. In 2001, the group was featured in a documentary that aired on PBS called "Coal Black Voices," and the word "Affrilachian" was added to the second edition of the Oxford American Dictionary. "I can't say how much I've benefited from being a part of the Affrilachian Poets," says Douglas. "I could look at the imagery in another poet's work and say to myself, 'I don't have imagery in my work. How can I do that?'"

Douglas, busy working on three books of poetry, continues to learn from his class workshops as he passes on the legacy of mentorship to his students. "Sometimes I think teaching is self-serving on my part. I'm always thinking about my students' writing, but I'm also thinking about my own, always adding to my skills through our discussions."

Douglas, excited to show the continuum of learning that takes place between student and mentor at the 2007-2008 Rufus and Louise Reiberg Reading Series, will share the work he produced at Cave Canem, reading alongside mentor and co-founder of the fellowship, Cornelius Eady.

-- Nicole Schmucker

Featured Interviews

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Professor Douglas discusses his research on soul musician Donnie Hathaway and the importance of attaining a higher education.

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