Bad boy turns good

Contributed by Richland NortheastHigh School

For Ray McManus, what a long, strange trip it's been. The former high school bad boy was introduced to poetry when a high school librarian stuck a book of poems in his hands during detention. He then went on to graduate from USC and last year received his PhD and won the 2007 Poetry Book Prize from the S.C. Poetry Initiative for Driving through the Country before You Are Born.

Now McManus is awaiting publication of his book by the University of South Carolina Press, scheduled for April 30.

McManus is one of those rarities among poets. Not only does he write award- winning verse but he also teaches writing notably as a founder of Split P, a poetry workshop for high school students.

Recently, four students from Richland Northeast High School's Palmetto Center for the Arts Literary Arts program, all of whom attend Split P as part of their coursework, were chosen from more than 100 applicants to represent District Two at the S.C. Young Writers' Conference. One of them, RNE junior Hallie Carde, was a S.C. Young Poets Prize winner last fall.

"Sometimes I think that Ray's accomplishments surprise him more than they surprise anyone else," said Ralph Schmidt, principal of Richland Northeast, where McManus taught for two years while completing his doctorate at USC. "He's a gifted young man."

In her Post & Courier review of Driving through the Country before You Are Born , Marjorie Wentworth (S.C.'s poet laureate) called it "an outstanding collection" and characterized the poems as "tough and gritty" and "haunted by violence and loss."

Author Eamon Wall wrote the book is "full of fervor and grace and is driven by a fierce regard for language and an understated moral vision. A terrific debut."

McManus will read from Driving through the Country before You Are Born on Thursday, April 19, at 7 p.m. in the Richland Northeast High School Science Atrium, 7500 Brookfield Road. A book signing will follow. Admission is free, and copies of McManus's book will be available for purchase.