The Barometer Online

Issue date: 11/24/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Ethan Erickson From left to right: Jeffrey Thomson, Averill Curdy, and V. Penelope Pelizzon read at the Symposium of Younger Poets on Friday in the Valley Library. The Symposium was part of the Visiting Writers Series, which aims to bring nationally recognized authors and poets to OSU.

The English department's Visiting Writers Series brought the second installment of the series to OSU on Friday night, titled "The Symposium of Younger Poets."

Approximately 90 guests filled the Valley Library Rotunda to hear the three poets read several selections of their poetry and answer questions about the craft.

The English department, the Valley Library and the Office of the Provost sponsored the reading.

As the title of the event suggests, these writers were chosen because they are relatively new to their careers in poetry.

"All of these poets are in the earlier stages of their careers," said Karen Holmberg, assistant professor of English.

She acknowledged that many young poets are producing some of the "most challenging, innovative and alive poetry today."

"I chose these poets on the basis of their excellence," Holmberg said.

In addition to Friday evening's reading, earlier in the day the three poets met with Masters of Fine Arts students of the English department and several undergraduates to discuss writing poetry, Holmberg said.

The first speaker, Averill Curdy, is the Artist in Residence at Northwestern University, where she teaches poetry. Her poems can be found in Poetry magazine, The Paris Review and Slate.

V. Penelope Pelizzon, who spoke second on Friday evening, is an associate professor of English and co-director of the creative writing program at The University of Connecticut. Her first book of poetry was released in 2000, and she has appeared in The Kenyon Review, The Nation and The New England Review.

The third speaker, Jeffrey Thomson, is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Maine Farmington. He has released two books of poetry and will publish three more in 2009.

After sharing several of their poems, the three poets returned to the podium to read one or two concluding poems, followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools