Bridgewater, Va- Dan Veach is a nationally renowned editor and globally-known author. Veach is the editor of the Atlanta Review, an internationally recognized poetry journal based in Atlanta Georgia and operated in collaboration with Georgia Tech.

Veach made the trip up to Virginia to speak to several English and Professional Writing classes, as well as to present some of his work at a convocation that was held in McKinney 100, on Oct. 16. Veach read from a poetry collection titled “Lunchboxes,” and read for 45 minutes.

Veach’s past consists of writing, as well as editing, as Dr. Stanley Galloway, professor of English, said when he introduced Veach on Wednesday night. He has presented his work globally, and has even had his work translated into several different languages.

The convocation began at 6:30 p.m., and lasted until 7:15 p.m. Afterwards, students took photographs with Veach, purchased his poetry book and received autographs. 

Veach’s poems are a collection of stories from his past, and include a mix of humor, puns, and political works. He spoke briefly to a Professional Writing class, explaining how he came to be editor of the Atlanta Review, and after several years, was running the entire thing. Veach explained that after almost two decades in the business, he passed the publication along to Georgia Tech to manage. 

Veach’s childhood was spent in southern California, far from where he finished up his high school years in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Several of his stories are anecdotal accounts of his childhood, and time spent in each place respectively. 

Near the end of his presentation, he recited a work regarding a zoo encounter, and said, “I was a member of the San Diego Zoo. Sometimes they even let me out.”  

Veach’s book is available online, across platforms such as Amazon and other sites.