Dr. James Davis May

Dr. James Davis May was appointed the director of the creative writing program in 2020. His most recent book, Unusually Grand Ideas, was published by Louisiana State University Press in 2023 and named to the Georgia Center for the Book’s list of Books All Georgians Should Read. Dr. May has received a literature fellowship in creative writing from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Walter E. Dakin fellowship from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and the Robert Frost Poetry Fellowship from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. He also won the Poetry Society of America’s Cecil Hemley Award and the Rattle Poetry Prize’s Readers’ Choice Award. Under Dr. May’s tenure as director, the creative writing program streamlined its curriculum to better serve Mercer students and their wide range of interests. The program has also enjoyed an array of student successes, including literary prizes, publications, and graduate school acceptances at some of the top M.F.A. programs in the country.

Education

• Ph.D., Georgia State University
• M.F.A., University of Houston
• B.A., Allegheny College

Specialty

Creative writing

Professional Interests

Dr. May teaches creative writing workshops in poetry and nonfiction and literature classes on poetry and the sacred, contemporary poetry, and British Romanticism. He also directs honors projects and independent studies. In addition to classes in English and creative writing, he teaches courses in both Integrative Studies and Great Books.

Recent Publications

• Unusually Grand Ideas. Louisiana State University Press. February 22, 2023.
• Unquiet Things. Louisiana State University Press. March 16, 2016.

Contact Dr. James Davis May

(478) 301-5642
may_jd@mercer.edu
Office: Ryals Hall, Room 203