James Gurley

James Gurley received 2007 GAP Award funding to travel to Andersonville National Historic museum in Georgia to continue research into the locale and the experiences of internees of this notorious Confederate Civil War concentration camp. His great-great grandfather was a Union sergeant and survivor of this prison, inspiring him to envision a series of poems about his ancestor’s experiences, “using traditional poetic forms or formal structures of my own devising to address the privations and emotions” inherent in this subject. His integration of form and content continues his interest in examining historical topics through a contemporary vision.

James also received a 1993 GAP Award and a 2001 Fellowship from Artist Trust.