Marjory Wentworth, an award-winning author and the former poet laureate of South Carolina, has long been a valuable voice in South Carolina literature and social justice. Her upcoming book, One River, One Boat, will be released with Evening Post Books on August 12, 2024.
Wentworth sees One River, One Boat as “a kind of memoir of [her] years” as poet laureate, a role she held from 2003 until 2020, when she resigned. Since then, South Carolina has not appointed another poet laureate.
The collection of poems and stories spans significant moments in South Carolina's history and milestones in Wentworth's own life, offering an insightful personal and historical reflection of the years she served the state.
“My friend Marcus Amaker said, ‘South Carolina is a complicated and beautiful place;’ I hope this collection of poems and essays addresses both of these things in equal measure,” Wentworth wrote.
The titular poem, “One River, One Boat,” was originally written for Nikki Haley’s gubernatorial inauguration in 2015, but, in a surprising break from tradition, was cut from the ceremony. The poem recognizes South Carolina sites closely tied to slavery and racial violence, a wrongly-convicted and later executed African American child, and the Confederate flag still flying beside the Statehouse, where the inauguration took place.
After “One River, One Boat” was excluded from the inauguration, Congressman James Clyburn read the poem into the U.S. Congressional record, saying he “hope[s] the people of South Carolina, across the country, and peoples around the world are as touched by her words as I have been.”
"I hope the book inspires a larger conversation about free speech and the role of poets as truth-tellers—a voice that isn't always popular, but directs attention to things that need to be addressed," Wentworth said.
Wentworth studied political science, dance, and anthropology at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. She then moved to New York City, where she immersed herself in the vibrant literary scene, attending poetry workshops and later enrolling in the graduate writing program at NYU. During this period, she balanced a day job in refugee resettlement with her courses in the evenings.
Wentworth soon began a successful career in the publishing industry, but her move to South Carolina in 1989 marked a turning point, as she began to publish her own writing, shaped by the state's rich cultural and natural landscape. Her contributions to literature include several poetry collections, children's stories, and co-authored works on human rights and local history.
Wentworth's appointment as South Carolina's poet laureate followed the passing of the former poet laureate of the state, Bennie Lee Sinclair, and Wentworth’s selection to write a poem for Mark Sanford's gubernatorial inauguration in 2003.
Her tenure spanned both moments of celebration and sorrow, including the devastating mass shooting by a white supremacist at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. In response to this tragedy, Wentworth wrote “Holy City,” another poem included in One River, One Boat.
“One of the most moving experiences was reading ‘Holy City’ in Reverend Anthony Thompson's church. I looked up from reading and everybody was bowing their heads as if it was a prayer; and when I wrote the poem, I had wanted it to feel like that. It was quite moving and really beautiful,” Wentworth recalled.
“Poetry and prayer both can provide a very meditative experience, holding a space for a special kind of reflection,” she continued.
Throughout her 17 years as poet laureate, Wentworth constantly used her platform to promote social justice, state support of the literary arts, and kindness. She also advocated for a rotating poet laureate position that would elevate the voices of various writers across the state.
“Not having a laureate representing the state right now, we're all missing out. Looking at what city laureates across the state are doing, it's just extraordinary—starting poetry festivals, working in our public schools, doing things that benefit their larger communities. We need that at a state level too,” she said.
Wentworth's poetry is deeply rooted in place and the natural world, often reflecting on the landscapes and history of South Carolina. She cites influences ranging from Romantic poets like William Wordsworth, who were environmentalists and social justice advocates, to more contemporary poets like her former professors Carolyn Forche and Phil Levine.
“I should have done my graduate degrees in comparative literature. I love to read any kind of literature from another time and place because it's a window into that culture—a way to understand it and be there yourself, in a way,” Wentworth said.
She is a seven-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize for poetry and, in 2017, became a New York Times bestselling author with Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets. In 2021, she received the South Carolina Governor’s Award for the Arts.
Wentworth also loves to teach, having taught courses on writing, social justice, and censorship at various institutions, including the College of Charleston and Wright State University.
“At this moment, I’m very concerned about the ways the school boards and the South Carolina Department of Education are censoring what information people can access, banning books from schools, and trying to control the dialogue,” Wentworth said.
Her comments follow South Carolina’s implementation of one of the strictest book bans in the country.
Wentworth remains committed to writing, teaching, and activism and continues to champion the appointment of a new poet laureate for South Carolina, emphasizing the importance of this role in promoting the arts and cultural literacy.
"Literature holds a mirror up to society in a way that is crucial for our understanding and growth," she said.
Wentworth will celebrate the release of One River, One Boat with a reading and book signing reception at six o’clock in the evening on September 12, 2024 at Circular Congregational Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Words by Dorothea Robertson. Uploaded August 12, 2024.