South of Pittsburgh: Poems from Northern Appalachia
A Retired Professor of Political Science and Economics Talks About His Late Embrace of Poetry and His Love for Appalachia
A Zoom Conversation with Michael Comiskey '79
As an Oberlin graduate with diverse interests and talents, have you ever considered the paths you have yet to explore? What would you like to experience that may be “outside the box,” a curve from your present trajectory? For more than three decades, Mike Comiskey was Professor of Political Science and Economics at the Penn State Fayette Campus in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, located about fifty miles south of Pittsburgh, on the western edge of the Appalachian Mountains. His efforts at poetry took off after his retirement in 2019, and he also turned to short-story writing. In the winter of 2023-24, he published South of Pittsburgh: Poems from Northern Appalachia, a book of poetry centered on the natural and human environments of the Appalachian region south of Pittsburgh.
“I never thought I’d be a poet. I had the most minor interest in the subject. Then I retired just as the pandemic stuck me at home. I was bored with political science, so my poetry writing took a more serious turn.
“About half of my poems and short stories are Appalachian in some way; the rest are a smorgasbord of God-knows-whatever catches my eye or crosses my mind. A majority of my poetry is formal, but I write in all styles. My poems have appeared in Pennsylvania’s Poetic Voices, Rune, The Loyalhanna Review, The Northern Appalachia Review, The Lyric, and Prize Poems 2023 (Pennsylvania Poetry Society, Inc.). My poems have somehow managed to win multiple awards. My debut volume of poetry, South of Pittsburgh: Poems from Northern Appalachia, came out in early 2024.
“My father was a machinist on the B&O Railroad and my mother was a secretary and bookkeeper, but mostly a homemaker. He was Irish. She was Italian. My grandparents and great-grandparents were immigrants. I grew up very conscious of the immigrant experience. Working-class life in Pennsylvania was good when I was a kid in the 1960’s. It’s not so good now. That’s the subject of some of my poetry.”
Join Mike as he shares his writing, describes how he pursued a “later in life” interest in poetry, discusses sources of inspiration and style, and explains why Appalachia holds a special place in his heart. Read some of his poems here.
Mike Comiskey ’79 graduated with degrees in Government and Economics from Oberlin. He earned a Master’s in Economics from Notre Dame and a PhD in Politics from Princeton. He lives happily in his hometown of Connellsville, Pennsylvania with his wife Mary Ann, a high school classmate.
Clyde Owan ’79 will serve as moderator. He and Mike are friends and were dormmates.
