The Betsy Writer's Room and O, Miami's Scott Cunningham present Charleston, South Carolina Poet Laureate Marcus Amaker for a wine & cheese reception hosted by hotel owner, Jonathan Plutzik. Take an hour to get to know the Artist in Residence as part of The Betsy Writer's Room residency program.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Marcus Amaker is Charleston, South Carolina’s first poet laureate and an award-winning graphic designer. He’s published seven poetry books and has been featured in The New York Times, TEDxCharleston, PBS Newshour, the A&E network, the Huffington Post, Alaska Beyond Magazine, SC Public Radio and many local media outlets. As a musician, he’s created more than 30 electronic music albums. His latest project, empath, is a collaboration with Grammy-nominated producer Quentin E. Baxter. As poet laureate, Marcus visits many schools to conduct poetry workshops and to inspire students to write. Area schools have started poetry clubs after his visits. He also created Charleston’s first poetry festival, Free Verse. As a journalist, Marcus helped to create Charleston Scene, a weekly entertainment section for Charleston’s SC’s daily newspaper, the Post and Courier. He is currently the lead graphic designer for the national music journal, No Depression. Charleston Business Magazine named him one of Charleston’s 50 Most influential people in 2016. His wife, Jordan Amaker, is an activist and marketing director of Lowcountry Local First.