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Former poet laureate Robert Pinsky to speak May 2
Posted 4/26/2001
Robert Pinsky,
poet laureate of the United States from 1997 to 2000, will speak
on campus May 2 as part of the Union Directorate's Distinguished
Lecture Series and to help the UW-Madison libraries and the Friends
of the Libraries celebrate the acquisition of the six millionth
book.
Pinsky is poetry editor of the online journal Slate, contributes to PBS's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" and teaches in the graduate writing program at Boston University. His most recent book of poetry is Jersey Rain.
In 1999, Norton published the anthology "Americans' Favorite Poems," a collection featured in Pinsky's Favorite Poems Project. Pinsky's writing has won awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
Pinsky's visit caps off the semester-long "Celebrating Books" events that commemorate the acquisition of the UW-Madison's six millionth book. The book, Dard Hunter's "Papermaking by Hand in America," was unveiled at a public lecture by Kenneth Frazier, UW-Madison Libraries director, on April 18. The book was selected for its strong connections to Wisconsin and the papermaking industry.
The Friends of the UW-Madison Libraries and the Wisconsin Union Distinguished Lecture Series are cosponsoring Pinsky's lecture. Funding is provided by the Joyce Foundation, the Keller Family Foundation, and Associated Students of Madison.
The talk, "Celebrating Books and Poetry with Robert Pinsky," will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Wisconsin Union Theater, 800 Langdon St.
Tickets not used by UW-Madison students, faculty, and staff will be available to the general public at no charge beginning Friday, April 27 at the Union box office, 262-2201 (11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday; noon-5 p.m., Saturday). If attendance exceeds theater capacity, there will be a video simulcast in the Memorial Union.
