News Releases @ TCC

NEW BOOK EARNS TCC PROFESSOR SECOND PUSHCART NOMINATION

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. – (Dec. 14, 2005) – Tom Williams, an associate professor with Tidewater Community College, has published a second book of poetry, Bombing the House of God, that has earned him a second nomination for the esteemed Pushcart Prize.

Bombing the House of God was released Dec. 8 by All Nations Press, which also published Williams’ first book, faceOFF, in 2002. Honored with five awards from the Poetry Society of Virginia, faceOFF was also nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

“Tom's work has considerable depth and range,” says publisher Catherine McCormick, “which shows his maturity as a poet who has been publishing for nearly two decades in more than 70 journals. We are very excited about this release.”

Regarding the book’s title, Williams says that the poems are not meant to be an attack on religion. “They are a questioning of whether religion and faith always mean the same thing,” he explains.

McCormick agrees. Rather than taking issue with religion, she says, “The book addresses the inconsistencies in those who use religion to promote secular commodities.”

An English professor, Williams says he has written poetry since the fourth grade. He holds an MFA in poetry from Old Dominion University and has taught at TCC since 1991. In February 2006, he will be the featured poet in the Poets Reading at the Southern Humanities Council Conference in Asheville, N.C.

The Pushcart Prize was created in 1976 to honor the best work produced by small presses. Publishers Weekly named it among the most influential projects in the history of American publishing. Past winners include Raymond Carver, Andre Dubus, Susan Minot, Mona Simpson, John Irving, and Philip Levine. This year’s winners will be announced in March 2006.