Germanna president nominated for literary prize

Germanna Community College President David A. Sam has been nominated for The Pushcart Prize.

A number of nominees will be selected for publication in the annual collection titled, "The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses," and one will be chosen for the prize.

Sam was nominated for his poem, “Taconic Orogeny,” published this fall in the Vine Leaves Literary Journal.

Previous winners of the award, first given in 1976, include Joyce Carol Oates at an early stage in her writing career.

“I am pleased and honored that the editors thought highly of my poem,” Sam said.

Sam, the author of "Memories in Clay, Dreams of Wolves," a semi-autobiographical 2014 book of poems, was born and spent his early childhood in McKeesport, Pa., a coal and steel suburb of Pittsburgh. Later, his family relocated with his father’s factory to Belleville, Mich., a Detroit exurb. Much of his childhood was passed exploring railroad tracks, woods, lakes, and rural farm fields, and they were the source of much imagery in his poetry. 

He's a grandchild of immigrants and a first-generation college student.

Profits from sales of "Memories in Clay, Dreams of Wolves" go to the Germanna Educational Foundation.

Sam is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and Michigan State University. He has taught creative writing, English literature, and composition at EMU, Marygrove College, Oakland Community College, and Pensacola State College.

Sam has written poetry for 40 years and has two published collections, the other being "Dark Land, White Light," published in 1971.

He's also been published in Carbon Culture Review, The Crucible, The Flagler Review, The Write Place at the Write Time, The Summerset Review, The Birds We Pile Loosely, and Literature Today.

Sam lives in Culpeper with his wife, Linda.

From the Pushcart Press website:

Since 1976, hundreds of presses and thousands of writers of short stories, poetry and essays have been represented in our annual collections. Each year most of the writers and many of the presses are new to the series. Every volume contains an index of past selections, plus lists of outstanding presses with addresses.

The Pushcart Prize has been a labor of love and independent spirits since its founding. It is one of the last surviving literary co-ops from the 60's and 70's.

Dr. Sam delves into his 'Dreams of Wolves' Saturday at 2 p.m. at The Griffin

Is there a gene for compassion? Or is it learned–developed by a series of experiences as we grow up?

It seems likely that both nature and nurture come into play.

David Sam’s new book is semi-autobiographical poetry

Germanna Community College President David Sam’s “Memories in Clay, Dreams of Wolves” is an honest and powerful book that provides a compelling window into the development of the heart and mind of a man who has devoted his life to helping those unlucky through no fault of their own.

“Die when I may,” Abraham Lincoln wrote to a friend, “I want it said of me by those who know me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower when I thought a flower would grow.”

“Memories in Clay, Dreams of Wolves” gathers poetry about a boyhood and adult life lived in conversation with nature. Sam describes a life shaped by his youth in Pennsylvania and Michigan and his journey by thumb through the Pacific Northwest.

“The are semi-autobiographical–which means I allow myself to lie if it makes for a better poem,” Sam quips.

Profits from the sale of the book go to the Germanna Community College Educational Foundation.

 Sam has a reading and signing set for 2 p.m.-4 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 15 at The Griffin Book Shop and Coffee Bar at 723 Caroline St. in downtown Fredericksburg. The book is available on Amazon.com, at The Griffin and at the Germanna Book Store.

BIO

Sam was born and spent his childhood in McKeesport, Penn., a coal and steel suburb of Pittsburgh. His home at the end of 36th Street abutted a woods, and the games he played on that street and the time he spent in those woods all influenced his poetry as well as his sense of the holistic ecology of all things. His neighborhood was filled with immigrants and children of immigrants, and his grandparents themselves came from Poland and Syria.

In 1961, the family moved with his father’s factory to Belleville, Mich., a far suburb of Detroit. Small town life near a lake and the rural farm fields and woods within a short walk along the railroad tracks often appear in the imagery and biography of his verse.

A first-generation college student and graduate of Eastern Michigan University and Michigan State University, Sam has taught creative writing, English literature, and composition at EMU, Marygrove College, Oakland Community College, and Pensacola State College. He was partner/manager of Gondolier Music & Electronics from 1972-1985 in Belleville before moving into higher education as an administrator.

He and his his wife Linda live in Culpeper, still within sight of the eastern mountain chain. They have two children, Michelle and Ryan, and three grandchildren.