Darrow Teacher Christopher Locke Honored For Poetry Writing

Christopher Locke, an esteemed member of the English department at Darrow School and an acclaimed poet and two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, has once again been honored for his creative writing. In November, the Irish publisher Salmon Poetry released Locke’s fifth poetry collection, The End of American Magic, to excellent reviews. It has since been named by the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance as a top book of 2010. Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate, has commented, “Christopher Locke writes true-story poems about growing up in America, poems delivered in plain, sure-footed language. Read a few opening lines and you’ll find yourself helplessly engaged.”
In February, Locke was invited to be a visiting writer at Allegheny College, Carnegie Mellon University, and John Carroll University for a week long series of lectures, readings, and question-and-answer sessions. In addition, the University of Southern Maine sponsored a book signing with Locke, and he has appeared at Kennebunk and Biddeford High Schools, also in Maine, as part of the Writers in the Schools Initiative. Locke was profiled in two separate radio features on Ireland’s Radio One, and was interviewed on NPR Miami about his work.
Next month, Locke will tour four cities in Ireland to read from and do book signings for The End of American Magic.