Cumberlands to Host Kathleen Driskell for Palmer Lecture

University of the Cumberlands is set to welcome award-winning poet and essayist Kathleen Driskell as the keynote speaker for this year's Palmer Lecture. The event will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, January 20, in the lecture hall on the first floor of the Correll Science Complex. Admission is free and open to the public.  

Known for finding creative inspiration in everyday moments, Driskell has a gift for helping readers slow down and pay attention to the world around them. Her poems invite reflection and remind us how meaning often hides in the mundane.  

Driskell is the author of several celebrated works, including Goat-Footed Gods, Blue Etiquette, Seed Across Snow, and Next Door to the Dead. The latter, written in part as a meditation on the cemetery next to her home, brings life and voice to the quiet neighbors just beyond her doorstep. The book went on to win the Judy Gaines Young Book Award and is just one example of how Driskell's writing turns personal surroundings into something that transcends time and space.   

Her individual poems and essays have also appeared in The New Yorker, Rattle, River Teeth, Appalachian Review, The Southern Review, Shenandoah, Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, and American Life in Poetry. These achievements are a testament to Driskell's ability to create works that deeply resonate with a wide range of readers.   

In addition to her creative work, Driskell is a longtime educator and literary leader. She currently serves as professor of creative writing and chair of the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University. From 2019 to 2022, she chaired the board of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs.  

On April 24, 2025, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear appointed Driskell as the 2025–26 Kentucky Poet Laureate, recognizing her contributions to Kentucky's literary community and her impact as both a writer and a teacher.  

"Kathleen Driskell is a true champion of the written word, but her own writing is every bit as remarkable as the work she so generously supports and promotes in others," said Jamey Temple, professor of English at Cumberlands. "I'm delighted that our community will have the opportunity to hear from her; she is the kind of writer who leaves audiences feeling inspired to create."   

Cumberlands' Dr. Robert L. Palmer Lecture Series is dedicated to Dr. Palmer, a former member of UC's English Department. Palmer sought to draw attention to the power of the written word. The lecture series was first established by his nephew, John Palmer, in his uncle's memory.