On Feb.19, 2025, The College of Central Florida hosted renowned poet David Kirby for a seminar and book signing. The event was part of the Debra Vazquez Memorial Poetry Series, honoring the late professor who was murdered by her husband over 20 years ago.
Throughout his career, Kirby has authored over 30 books of poetry and essays. In addition, he’s continuously taught classes at Florida State University since 1969.
“It’s a break in a routine,” Kirby said when asked why he chose to accept the offer to visit CF. “I’ve known Ron [Cooper] and Sandra [Cooper] for years. They’re wonderful people to work with. I only came here one time before, but you have a beautiful campus and a terrific student body. My students are fine – classes have been going for almost two months now – so, I figured I could leave them for a day and come meet a bunch of new people and work with them.”
While advertised as a reading, Kirby spent his time at the 12:30p.m. session discussing what he calls the “four tricks of the trade” for writers. According to him, these components are a hook, voice, saturation and theme.
Near the halfway point of Kirby’s speech, a mother came in to watch with her young child in tow. This led to an adorable highlight of the event, where Kirby held the toddler in his arms. Even after being returned to their parent, the child attentively reached toward Kirby for the event’s remaining duration.
Following his lecture, Kirby took questions from the crowded audience of students and professors alike. When asked how to avoid creator’s burnout and writer’s block, Kirby advised the attendees to keep a “bits journal” of everything they encounter and observe in everyday life.
Following the Q&A, the book signing occurred as planned. Kirby signed free copies of his latest book, “The Winter Dance Party”, which contains various poems he wrote from 1983 to 2023. Kirby admitted that promoting the book was one of the reasons he agreed to the event at CF, though he did not spend much time discussing it during his presentation.
Overall, the event was well-attended, and the audience seemed to enjoy themselves. It appears that Kirby’s visit proved to be another success for the Debra Vazquez Memorial Poetry Series and CF as a whole.
