What started as a joke to be the first person to have a poem in “Sky Mall Magazine,” has turned into the first published book in Eric Kocher’s catalog.
Kocher, assistant professor of environmental studies at Wofford College, has been incorporating creative writing into his Wofford courses since 2013. His new release, “Sky Mall,” is a meditation on parenthood and togetherness that explores themes of capitalism, love and our relationship to the world around us.
“So much of my job is asking students to recognize environmental issues in their own lives, which is challenging when we are talking about something big like climate change or global warming,” says Kocher. “Some of the poems in this collection explore how we can train our attention to see these global issues in our tiny, everyday lives.”
Kocher’s teaching and writing intersect through his focus on environmental awareness. His students explore how things like literature have profoundly shaped environmental thinking, both culturally and politically.
“I feel very lucky to work at an institution that recognizes the value of my creative endeavors,” he says. “And talking through the ideas I explore in the book with students and colleagues has helped me see them far more clearly than I could have imagined.”
Kocher’s book recently won the 2024 Rattle Chapbook Prize. His poems have previously appeared in “32 Poems,” “Boston Review,” “Gulf Coast,” “Oversound” and “A Public Space” among others. He lives in upstate South Carolina with his wife, Audrey, and their two children, Oscar and Louise.
Kocher will be reading from his new collection of poetry and signing copies at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 29 at the Hub City Bookshop in downtown Spartanburg. The event is free, and the public is invited to attend.