Faculty Profile

Included in a list of national and international writers nominated to receive the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is the name of Anthony Kellman, professor of English in ASU’s Department of Languages, Literature, and Communications.

“I’m just tickled to be nominated because this is a very prestigious international award,” says Mr. Kellman. “It’s a ratifying thing to be recognized by your peers. A nomination affirms that you’re not working in a vacuum.”

Mr. Kellman was nominated for the award for his fiction novel, The Houses of Alphonso, and he shares the list with famous writers such as Alice Walker, Joyce Carol Oates, and Tom Wolfe. The award will be presented in Dublin in early Summer.

Mr. Kellman was also nominated for the Townsend Prize for Fiction for the same book. The award, sponsored by Georgia Perimeter College and the Chattahoochee Review, is given to an outstanding novel or short-story collection published by a Georgia writer during the past two years.

“I was short-listed for the award which means I am in the final five or so novels being considered,” Mr. Kellman says. “The novel was also featured on National Public Radio last October so it’s a nice little buzz I’m getting.”

A new book-length poem by Mr. Kellman, Limestone, is scheduled for publication later this Spring. It deals with the heroes of Barbados over five centuries—from the 16th century to present day. It contains subjects as diverse as male-female relationships, the extinction of indigenous Caribbean Amerindian tribes, the importance of national heroes, slavery and its aftermath, and more. Mr. Kellman also made a CD by the same title which features his Island-folk/World music style and is the soundtrack to Limestone, the book.

Born and raised in Barbados, Mr. Kellman moved to the United States in 1986 to pursue a master’s degree. He attended Louisiana State University and earned his degree in 1989. One of the requirements while attending LSU was to teach an English composition course every semester.

“I discovered then that I loved to teach,” says Mr. Kellman. “One of the things I found is that teaching informs my own creative writing and vice versa. My critical thinking is heightened when I engage in lecturing, reading students’ papers, and mentoring students; and the enthusiasm and passion I have for my writing enters the classroom with me.”

Mr. Kellman also brings his enthusiasm and passion for writing to the people in the community. He founded the Winter Gathering of Writers in 1990, which is an event that highlights notable poets and fiction writers, especially writers in the South. It is a complimentary event to ASU’s three-day Sandhills Writers’ Conference, which Mr. Kellman also coordinates and is national and international in its scope of authors and range of literary activities.

“While I love the Sandhills Writers Conference, I have a particularly intimate association with the Winter Gathering of Writers because I founded it,” Mr. Kellman says. “Sandhills is a national event, and I thought that if we could have a platform for mainly regional writers of imaginative literature, then that would be fantastic.”

Mr. Kellman is the author of four books of poetry, two novels, and is the editor of the first U.S. English-Language anthology of Caribbean poetry titled Crossing Water. He released his first CD, Wings of A Stranger, in 2000, which was the CD musical companion to his book of poetry by the same title. He received a diploma of journalism from the London School of Journalism, a bachelor’s degree from the University of the West Indies in Cave Hill, Barbados, and the terminal Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Louisiana State University.

Who: Anthony Kellman

Position: Professor of English in ASU’s Department of Languages, Literature, and Communications

How long at ASU: 17 years

Family: Wife, Malaika Favorite; daughter, Tonya.

Did you know: Mr. Kellman enjoys playing guitar and piano, writing songs, going to the movies, gardening, playing tennis, and jogging.

Other News: Alumni Awards | Black History Month Events | Cullum Lecture Series | PKP Symposium | Educator/Employer Expos | Lyceum Series | Film Series | Grants Awarded | Kim Davies Named Chair | Karen Mobley Named Director | Steve Lape’s Column on FERPA | Faculty Spotlight | Staff Spotlight | Campus Notables | Photographic Review 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Calendar | Birthdays | Quiz