In the South, peaches are iconic. Many people love the ripe, juicy flavor of the pink and yellow fruit.

Judith Cofer, a Regents’ and Franklin professor of English and creative writing at the University and a noted poet, essayist and author, is not concerned with the peachy exterior.

The hard center, otherwise known as the pit, which most people throw away without thinking, was the inspiration for the name of her new multi-genre work in progress, “The Peach Pit Corazón.”

“The peach pit is the hardest thing you can find, according to an old, Southern saying,” she said. “This collection is going to be about Georgia, and finally, after 20 years, I feel that I can write about it. This is going to be about making this place home, without giving up the other part of me.”

She said the original saying mentions the peach pit heart, but wanting to include her Latin influence, she changed “heart” to its Spanish counterpart.

Cofer, who will read both poetry and prose Thursday at Park Hall, was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Patterson, New Jersey. She now lives with her husband, John Cofer, on a farm in Georgia, and said she has immersed herself in Southern culture.

In an interview in her office, she talked of her obsession with possessing language while surrounded by bright yellow walls, colorfully painted chairs and bookshelves overflowing with books.

Christy Desmet, director of first-year composition and associate professor of English, said Cofer’s work relates to everyone, despite her cultural influences.

“Her writing has a vivid human context,” she said. “She demonstrates what it’s like to be a reader, as well as a writer. Her writing is lyrical, but it draws on classical models.”

Cofer’s new collection contains both poetry and prose, much like her previous book, “The Latin Deli.” This combination was fairly unheard of when Cofer first convinced the University of Georgia Press to publish her book. Now many people are working with the idea, she said.

Her collection also contains lyrical essays, which are a recent addition to the literary genre.

“The Seneca Review” writes the following about the lyric essay: “They forsake narrative line, discursive logic and the art of persuasion in favor of idiosyncratic meditation.”

Cofer is the writing mentor of Aggie Ebrahimi, a Ph.D. student in the creative writing department. Ebrahimi said Cofer is spunky and has given contours to her own poetic voice.

“Cofer writes with a new sense of witnessing,” she said. “She uses artistic form to bring attention to experiences people normally view as small.”

Cofer said she hopes to pull people out of silence.

“I want people to remember to appreciate life beyond the materialistic level. You should leave a poetry or prose reading knowing something about human nature,” she said.

She hopes students will ask questions not about the meaning of her work, but about what triggered her imagination to create the work.