Chattanooga State Community College’s Humanities Department is set to welcome award-winning poet Christian J. Collier as the featured writer for its 2026 Writers@Work program, with a multi-day, community-wide celebration of his work scheduled for April 7–9. All events are free and open to the public.
Collier is a Black, Southern writer, arts organizer, and teaching artist who calls Chattanooga home. He is the author of Greater Ghost and the chapbook The Gleaming of the Blade, the 2021 Editors’ Selection from Bull City Press.
His poetry has appeared in The Atlantic and other publications. He is a 2015 Loft Spoken Word Immersion Fellow, the winner of the 2022 Porch Prize in Poetry, and the recipient of the 2020 ProForma Contest from Grist Journal.
Though born in Louisiana, Collier has deep roots in Chattanooga. His father relocated for work when Collier was an infant, and the rest of the family followed when he was around five years old.
Aside from four years at the University of Tampa, he has lived in Chattanooga ever since.
“Whenever I’m asked, ‘Are you from Chattanooga?’ I always tell people that I’ve been here long enough to claim it,” Collier says.
Founded in 2011 by the Chattanooga State Humanities Department, the Writers@Work (W@W) program was originally created to enrich the practice of literary analysis in Composition II classes through a shared reading focused on Southern culture.
It has since grown into a beloved annual arts experience that reaches countless residents across the greater Chattanooga area. Designed and hosted by English faculty at Chattanooga State Community College, W@W is, in the words of its organizers, the college’s literary gift to the community it serves.
Over fifteen years, the program has hosted an impressive roster of nationally recognized and bestselling Southern authors, including Chattanooga’s own Ishmael Reed, among many others.
Events are always free to attendees and are held at prominent locations throughout the city, chosen to highlight both the visiting authors and the best of Chattanooga itself.
In preparation for Collier’s visit, the W@W program distributed more than 250 copies of his books to over 30 Chattanooga-area book clubs at the beginning of March, encouraging a citywide common read.
“We’re thrilled at the continued interest in our community read,” said Erica Lux, Chattanooga State Associate Professor of English and W@W Co-Director, “and we look forward to seeing our book club groups at the April events.”
The celebration kicks off Tuesday, April 7, from 6-8 p.m. at the Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View Ave. The evening, titled “Inside the Mind of Christian J. Collier: The Behind-the-Writer Interview,” will feature Lux in conversation with Collier about his life as a writer and his experience as a Southern author.
Guests are invited to ask questions, have books signed, and mingle with fellow readers while taking in views of the Tennessee River from the museum’s lobby and enjoying light refreshments at the author’s reception.
The series concludes Thursday, April 9, from 6-7:30 p.m. with “The Craft of Writing with Christian J. Collier,” held at the Denise Heinly Art Center, OMNI Building Room 130, on the Chattanooga State campus at 4501 Amnicola Hwy.
The craft talk will explore how Collier balances a writing life with career and family, what fuels his inspiration, and what projects he is currently pursuing. Attendees are encouraged to come with questions.
For more information about the Writers@Work program or to learn more about upcoming events, visit the program’s website at chattbigread.com.