UA professor's poem published in The New Yorker

Davis McCombs
Davis McCombs

An associate professor of English at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville has a poem published in the Aug. 3 issue of The New Yorker, according to a news release from the university.

Davis McCombs' "Dumpster Honey" was inspired by a bee hive on the outer wall of the building where he works. The poem and a recording of McCombs reading it are available on The New Yorker's website.

“Some of us noticed that the bees were quite territorial about the dumpster by the loading dock at Kimpel Hall and would fly at you if you walked past,” McCombs said in the news release. “My colleague John DuVal said, ‘I’ve heard of apple blossom honey, but never of dumpster honey.’ Well, I loved that phrase, and over the next couple of weeks, I wrote the poem with that title.”

The issue with McCombs' poem has been on newsstands and online since July 27, and will be available until Aug. 9, according to the news release.

“The faculty and I are proud to have one of our own appear in such a prominent and prestigious publication," English department chair Dorothy Stephens said.

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