Rich Davis, Author; Charles Hurst, Designer
Rich Davis
Rich Davis majored in English and political science, graduating from Pepperdine University after a junior year at the University of Vienna with the Institute of European Studies. As a graduate assistant at Harvard University, where he is an alumnus of both the Harvard Kennedy School and the Graduate School of Design, Rich Davis taught students the elements of research and documentation--skills applied in a career of urban planning, historic preservation and downtown redevelopment in New England and the Midwest.
As a Trustee of the National Historic Landmark Old Slater Mill and Executive Director of the Pawtucket Foundation in Rhode Island, Davis explored the byways of the Blackstone Valley--including the mill communities from which the Thayer family emerged. Now Davis draws upon the persistent popularity of one of the best-loved poems of America's Gilded Age to unravel the mysteries obscuring both the origins of the ballad and the biography of its enigmatic author.
Rich and his wife reside in the Midwest. An educator in recent years, Davis has enjoyed teaching "Casey" to literature students in the public schools, and currently teaches economics at the Clermont campus of the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. Davis is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, having served in Brazil, and is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and a member of Baseball Bard--The Poetry of the Game https://www.baseballbard.com/ .
Rich's "Casey in Ulalysium" was nominated for the fifth annual Saturday "Visiter" Awards, a feature of the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards in Baltimore, Maryland, Oct. 7 & 8, 2023. On October 5, 2024, "The Raving: A Visit from Old Nick" was named a juried winner in the "Original Works" category at the Poe Festival & Awards ceremonies in Baltimore.
Ambrose Bierce and the Fall of the Republic was awarded Honorable Mention in the Print/Online Article category of the 90th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition (2021). The illustrated version of this article can be found at the above link, located within Caseyatthe.blog .
The Love Song of E. "Phineas" Thayer, was awarded Honorable Mention in the Print/Online Article category of the 89th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition (2020). The illustrated version of this article (with minor edits) can be found within Caseyatthe.blog at the above link:
"Casey Stops by the Ball Park on a Snowy Evening" was selected as a juried winner by the first National Baseball Poetry Festival, held April 28-30, 2023 at Polar Park (home of the Triple-A WooSox team) and the Canal District in Worcester, MA.
Sir Charles Design https://sircharles.design/
Charles D. Hurst, award-winning web and graphics designer for Caseyatthe.blog, is based in Austin, Texas. Follow his work on Instagram @sircharles.design . "Throughout my career there have been many projects that brought true joy to my life," says Charles. "I'm a real nerd about this stuff, and it can be hard to hide sometimes....Art is my life. Design helps guide me."