Feb 14th
On February 14, 2026, R.A. Fountain and Emily Herring Wilson are celebrating Archie Ammons’ 100th birthday (he was born Feb. 18, 1926) at Fountain General Store, in downtown Fountain. We’ll gather to read favorite Archie poems, talk about his home country, and eat some barbecue.
Also, for this occasion: a very special sale of 100 birthday packages, each containing an original Ammons watercolor + a copy of Emily’s superb memoir, When I Go Back to My Home Country, about her decades-long friendship with Archie + a collectible copy of the first North Carolina Literary Review, published in 1992. That issue introduced Archie as NCLR’s staff poet, and for six years, he faithfully fulfilled his job, which was to send us a new poem for each issue.
More info on the R.A. Fountain website.
Mark Your Calendars:
2/19: ECU Writers Book Release Party (Greenville, NC)
4/18: North Carolina Writers’ Network Spring Conference (Greensboro, NC)