STARKVILLE, Miss.—Brett Hanley, an instructor in the Department of English at Mississippi State University, will read from her debut poetry collection, “I Was Your Bird,” on October 27 at 5 p.m. in Old Main Academic Center, Room 1030.
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The event is free and open to the public, and will include a question-and-answer session as well as a book signing following the reading. Hanley expressed her gratitude for the opportunity, stating, “I’m grateful for the opportunity to celebrate 'I Was Your Bird' with the MSU community. I look forward to sharing my creative work and to the conversation that follows with students and colleagues.”
Published by JackLeg Press in 2026, the collection was a finalist for the Jake Adam York Prize. It delves into themes of love, memory, identity, and transformation, featuring poems that explore relationships, childhood, history, and the natural world in the search for connection and meaning. Hanley's second poetry collection is set to be published by Black Lawrence Press in 2028.
Hanley earned her Master of Fine Arts from McNeese State University and a doctorate from Florida State University. She has worked as a poetry editor for Southeast Review and The McNeese Review, and currently serves as a manuscript reader for Texas Review Press at Sam Houston State University. Her work has been featured or is forthcoming in various publications, including West Branch, Gulf Coast, Ninth Letter, Colorado Review, The Journal, and Poetry Northwest. Additionally, she has received support from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference.
For more information about MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences or the Department of English, visit www.cas.msstate.edu or www.english.msstate.edu.