MFA poets perform at Southern Festival of Books

Posted by dicintm on Thursday, October 23, 2025 in event, graduate, news.

Several students in the MFA Creative Writing program appeared on October 19th at the Southern Festival of Books. Poets Ayesha Asad, Kinsale Drake, Alexandra Green, Athena Nassar, Lana Reeves, and Kanchi Sharma read from their latest works, joining more than 175 regionally and nationally recognized authors at the festival.

MFA students read at the Southern Festival fo Books — Top row, left to right: Ayesha Asad, Alexandra Green, Kinsale Drake, Athena Nassar, Lana Reeves. Bottom row: Asad, Green, Reeves, and Kanchi Sharma. Photos by Tim Gollins.

This year’s event was titled “Vanderbilt University Presents: The Southern Festival of Books, a program of Humanities Tennessee,” marking a new chapter in the life of this storied public event and reflecting Vanderbilt’s deepening investment in the cultural, civic and intellectual fabric of the region.

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