WEBVTT

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Good evening.

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On behalf of the Ruth
Stephan Poetry Center,

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I've been asked to make
an announcement first.

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On Tuesday, April the 16th in
the Liberal Arts auditorium

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at 8:30, Elizabeth
Bishop will read

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as our last poet of the year.

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And of course,
you're all invited.

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Tonight we think
we are extremely

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fortunate to have a poet as
versatile both in his living

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and in his writing as
Mr. Galway Kinnell.

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Ms. Kinnell was born
in Rhode Island.

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He has lived in New England.

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He has lived in New
York as you've probably

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noticed in the poetry.

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He has lived in
Chicago and has been

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in charge of the downtown
center, the Liberal Arts

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division of the
University of Chicago.

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He has been working and
writing in New Orleans

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and on the other side of
the continent in the Pacific

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Northwest in Oregon.

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His experience abroad
includes two years.

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In fact, much of which was spent
at the University of Grenoble.

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And a Fulbright fellowship
which took him for a year

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to the University of Tehran.

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You may also notice
from the poetry

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that he has spent
some time in India.

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Consequently, I suppose
it is no surprise when

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we realize that this time
though he lives in Vermont

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he is going across
the continent again

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and has been part in residence
in a number of places coming

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to us from the University--
the Colorado State

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University in Fort Collins.

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He's on his way to Seattle to
the University of Washington

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where I gather that in
addition to his students

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and his interest in poetry,
one of the great drawing cards

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is to be possibly a houseboat.

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Mr. Kinnell has written
poetry and published it

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in a number of magazines
over the years.

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If we mention such magazines
as New World Writing,

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as [INAUDIBLE],,
as the New Yorker,

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as Poetry, as the Nation, you
get some idea of the variety.

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Also he has been
included of course

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in anthologies including
one on the situation

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at the moment in
Vietnam, which I

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know is of concern to everyone.

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He has to his credit five books.

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While he was in France,
he did of course the work

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on the François Villon book,
which is a translation that

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came out in 1965.

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In 1966 he published
a novellette

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called Black Light, which I
gather most of you would enjoy.

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And so far as we are
concerned tonight

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there are the three
books of poems.

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What a Kingdom It Was,
which came out in 1960.

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Flower Herding on
Mount Monadnock

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which came out in 1964.

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And this year's volume was a
very interesting title Body

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Rags.

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Probably he shall read from--
he will read from all of them.

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It always seems a
little presumptuous

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to mention the awards that
these people have won.

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But it perhaps would
be fitting just

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to mention that he has had the
usual Guggenheim Fellowship.

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I mentioned the
Fulbright Fellowship.

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And he has had an
award from the National

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Institute of Arts and Letters.

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The question of the
kind of poet is going

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to leave to him and to you.

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I was interested in what
the critics had to say.

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Some of them call
him a religious poet.

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Some of them insist that
he is a nature poet.

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A couple of them taking
their lives in their hands

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announced that his main
subject is the human condition.

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I think so far as we
are concerned, yes.

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[LAUGHTER]

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I think so far as we are
concerned tonight what we

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have is the first great poet.

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Mr. Kinnell.

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[APPLAUSE]

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Thank you very much.

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I was glad for the confirmation
that this is a reading and not

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a lecture.

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A student this
afternoon said she

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was under the
impression I was going

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to give a lecture tonight.

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And I had a thrill of fear.

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[LAUGHTER]

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And if any of you
have come thinking

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this is a lecture and
not a reading I'm sorry

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and yet I feel no
remorse because I'm

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a very poor lecturer.

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And you can feel pleased
at the turn which destiny

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has taken in your favor although
I'm not a very good reader

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either.

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[LAUGHTER]

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I want to read some of my
poems both early and recent.

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But before I do, I want to
read a few poems by others.

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Can you hear me all
right in the back?

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