L. Lamar Wilson

Current

• Fellow at Cave Canem
• Copy editor at The Washington Post
• Composition Instructor/MFA Candidate at Virginia Tech

• Member at National Association of Black Journalists

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Past

• Fellow at Callaloo
• Features Copy Editor at Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Features Copy Editor at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

• Intern (News Copy Desk) at Tallahassee Democrat
• Intern (Metro Copy Desk) at St Petersburg Times
• Intern (Features Copy Desk) at Philadelphia Inquirer
• Intern (GA Reporter, Copy editor) at Ocala Star-Banner

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4 more...

Education

• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

Recommended

6 people have recommended L. Lamar

Connections

206 connections

Industry

Writing and Editing

L. Lamar Wilson’s Summary

Teaching freshman composition at Virginia Tech

L. Lamar Wilson’s Specialties:

Cross-cultural literacy/intercultural rhetoric in composition instruction, writing coach, copy editing, line editing, reporting

L. Lamar Wilson’s Experience

• Fellow

  Cave Canem

  (Writing and Editing industry)

  June 2008 — Present (1 year 7 months)

  No other place have I felt more free to let my creativity have its way with me. No other place have I witnessed the diversity and fearlessness of black poetic artistry manifest more beautifully. CC poets (faculty & fellows) are major players in contemporary poetry, from the slam stage to the top-tier literary journals' pages.

• Copy editor

  The Washington Post

  (Public Company; Newspapers industry)

  May 2008 — Present (1 year 8 months)

  I edit stories in the Style section, where the details matter and risks in headlines are a must.

• Composition Instructor/MFA Candidate

  Virginia Tech

  (Educational Institution; Higher Education industry)

  August 2007 — Present (2 years 5 months)

  I teach two composition courses a semester. My focus in the first semester is increasing students' sensitivity to the rhetoric around them in the popular culture they consume daily (music, film, TV, news). My assignments are designed to make their writing something in which they feel invested while they learn to analyze rhetorical choices others make in writing and advertising.
  
  In the second semester, I use memoir, ethnography and an argumentative essay in my research-based unit on physical spaces as sources for exploration and excavation. Students become more critically aware of how observation and interviewing can enhance traditional academic research.

• Member

  National Association of Black Journalists

  (Writing and Editing industry)

  August 1997 — Present (12 years 5 months)

  While an undergrad at FAMU, I was a campus leader (secretary and vice president) and a regional representative. In 1999, I earned one of NABJ's coveted scholarships and worked for the organization on the student newspaper staff during the Unity conference, also addressing the Newspaper Association of America about the misnomer of "minority." Two years later, I organized a panel exploring the relevance of the black press and served on a panel about using internships to position oneself for nontraditional roles (in my case, feature/day copy editing vs. hard-news/night copy editing) upon graduation.
  
  I remained a committed member throughout my years as a full-time professional, volunteering as a mentor on the newspaper on which I'd worked as a student at several conferences. In 2007, I was awarded a Salute to Excellence honor for my headlines in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  
  I hope to connect with and organize student members at the universities in southwest Virginia's New River Valley in my last year of graduate school.

• Fellow

  Callaloo

  (Writing and Editing industry)

  2007 — 2008 (1 year )

  I worked on poems with Tracy K. Smith and Terrance Hayes over this fortnight and met several peers who've become friends.

• Features Copy Editor

  Atlanta Journal-Constitution

  (Privately Held; Newspapers industry)

  January 2004 — August 2007 (3 years 8 months)

  After a 2001 internship on the business and news copy desks, I returned full time in 2004, spending my first nine months on the metro and national copy desks. I then entered the world of features with Living, Arts & Books, Travel, ajcCars, ajcJobs, Better Health, accessAtlanta and Buyer's Edge. I slotted the latter two sections for most of the last year and a half I was at the AJC. My headlines were consistently Best of Quarter winners at the newspaper and were honored by the National Association of Black Journalists.

• Features Copy Editor

  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

  (Public Company; Newspapers industry)

  October 2001 — January 2004 (2 years 4 months)

  My first full-time gig after FAMU was spent working on this paper's many non-news sections, mostly editing stories and crafting headlines for the traditional features sections (Cue, Food, Arts & Books, Travel, etc.) and community/suburban tabs. I also helped prototype a revamping of Weekend Cue, a tab geared to young professionals, and wrote about the area's booming slam poetry scene and underground music artists. In addition to these "brights" (short pieces), I reported front-page feature stories and crafted commentary for the opinion pages.
  
  I was a proud member of the newspaper guild, serving as its secretary my last year.

• Intern (News Copy Desk)

  Tallahassee Democrat

  (Public Company; Newspapers industry)

  September 2000 — December 2000 (4 months)

  I edited the daily Metro section, handling several cover stories each edition.

• Intern (Metro Copy Desk)

  St Petersburg Times

  (Privately Held; Newspapers industry)

  June 2000 — August 2000 (3 months)

  I was the newspaper's Peggy Peterman Scholarship recipient that year and earned an internship, funded through the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund. I edited the newspaper's many regional editions as well as its main Metro editions. I also compiled and designed the Entertainment page that anchored Metro for a fortnight. The deadline pressure on the Metro desk enhanced my efficiency by bounds.

• Intern (Features Copy Desk)

  Philadelphia Inquirer

  (Privately Held; Newspapers industry)

  May 1999 — August 1999 (4 months)

  I edited the daily Lifestyle section and the many non-news feature sections that run in the Friday, Saturday and Sunday editions.

• Intern (GA Reporter, Copy editor)

  Ocala Star-Banner

  (Writing and Editing industry)

  May 1998 — September 1998 (5 months)

  I covered general news, cops/crime, and feature stories -- from a spate of forest fires to an influx of skunk vine and youth gangs. My final two weeks were spent on the copy desk, where I came to understand my niche in this industry.

L. Lamar Wilson’s Education

• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

  MFA , 20th-century poetic movements (modernism, Harlem Renaissance, Black Arts) and contemporary poetry , 2007 — 2010 (expected)

• Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

  Newspaper Journalism , Dual Major in English , 1997 — 2001

  I lived in the office of the student newspaper, The Famuan, which was consistently a top-10 (often top-five) Hearst Foundation Prize winner. I held every position on the copy desk and managed the staff my last year. My summers were spent reporting and editing for the Ocala Star-Banner, Philadelphia Inquirer, St. Pete Times and Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I also edited for the Tallahassee Democrat and its black counterpart, the Capital Outlook. I even did some state government reporting for the Gadsden County Times, a weekly in that area.

  Activities and Societies:

  Kappa Tau Alpha Honor Society, Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society, National Association of Black Journalists, The Famuan

Additional Information

L. Lamar Wilson’s Interests:

Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, music (most genres), visual art, photography

L. Lamar Wilson’s Groups:

Association of Writers and Writing Programs, National Association of Black Journalists, American Copy Editors Society, Kappa Tau Alpha Honor Society

•    The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Alumni Group
•    NABJ (National Association of Black Journalists)
•    Dow Jones Newspaper Fund Alumni

L. Lamar Wilson’s Honors:

Winner:
2008 Emily Morrison Poetry Prize
2007 National Association of Black Journalists Salute to Excellence Award for Copy-editing
2001 Top graduate in FAMU SJMGC

Finalist:
2009 International Reginald Shepherd Memorial Poetry Prize
2008 New Letters Poetry Award
2000 Hearst Foundation Opinion Writing

L. Lamar Wilson’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• expertise requests
• reference requests
• getting back in touch