Contact: Maridith Geuder
A poem written by a Mississippi State University administrator during a New England hiking vacation will air this or next weekend on National Public Radio.
"When Autumn Comes," composed by University Television Center director David N. Hutto, is scheduled to be featured on "Weekend All Things Considered." The program airs 4-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays on Public Radio in Mississippi.
The poem is narrated by former Birmingham, Ala., resident Betty Brewer, who died two weeks after its taping. It includes musical phrases composed by Mark Phillips of Birmingham, where the poem was recorded.
Hutto, a member of the university television staff since 1975, holds degrees from Birmingham Southern College and the University of Alabama.
"I was on vacation last fall near the Maine coast, one of my favorite places," Hutto said. "As I hiked through the woods, I began to think about the analogies between fall and aging. I put some thoughts down about the human condition when autumn comes to us all."
While he originally developed the work as a multimedia piece with sound and images, Hutto said he became convinced the poem was most suited for radio. He sent an audiotape to an arts editor at NPR, who agreed.
An NPR spokesman said the poem tentatively is to be presented on a segment of this weekend's programs [Oct. 4-5], but may be held for a slot on the 11th or 12th.