CHESTERTOWN, MD— The Rose O’Neill Literary House at Washington College welcomes its 2013 Cave Canem fellow, Yona Harvey, to Chestertown for a month-long writer’s residency beginning June 1. 

While most of her time will be spent working on her own writing projects and quietly exploring the town, Harvey also will be a part of the Lit House’s second of three Summer Poetry Salons on Tuesday, June 25 at 4:30 p.m., when she will share the stage with poet Steve Kistulentz and local band Sleeper Cell.

Yona Harvey lives in Pittsburgh, Pa., where she serves on the English faculty of Carnegie-Mellon University. She is the author of the poetry collection Hemming the Water (Four Way Books, 2013) and the recipient of an Individual Artist Grant from The Pittsburgh Foundation. Her poems can be found in jubilat, Gulf Coast, Callaloo, West Branch, and various journals and anthologies including A Poet’s Craft: A Comprehensive Guide to Making and Sharing Your Poetry (Ed. Annie Finch). She lives with her husband and two children not far from where jazz pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams grew up. Williams married the spiritual to the secular in her music, and is a regular muse in Yona’s writing.

The Cave Canem Summer Residency at The Rose O’Neill Literary House is a partnership with Cave Canem, whose mission is to serve as “a home for the many voices of African American poetry” and to “cultivate the artistic and professional growth of African American poets.” The Washington College Cave Canem Summer Residency is a month-long Chestertown retreat offered annually to one outstanding former Cave Canem Fellow. Previous Summer Residents include poets Kevin Vaughn in 2012 and Arisa White in 2011.