It is my distinct pleasure to announce that Friday, July 7, 2017, I was honored with the Henry Timrod Southern Culture Award by the Military Order of Stars and Bars.

The award is given for “understanding, appreciation, and explanation” of Southern history and culture through the arts.  Past honorees include painters Mort Künstler and John Paul Strain as well as other writers such as fellow North Carolina writer Nancy Brewer.

The award’s namesake, Henry Timrod, was a Southern poet, often called the “Poet Laureate of the Confederacy.”  He was a well known and highly regarded poet and editorialist before, during and after the war.  He served in the Confederate military briefly, but tuberculosis cut his service short.  His influence reaches into the modern day.  In 2006, Bob Dylan was accused of plagiarizing Timrod’s poems in some of his song lyrics.

It is a great honor to receive an award named for such a luminary.