persona poems

Franz Wright discusses a wide range of topics, including Rilke, translation, and the writing life.

Camille T. Dungy reads primarily from What to Eat, What to Drink, What to Leave for Poison (2006). This reading was originally given with Richard Siken and Heriberto Yépez as part of the Next Word Series.

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and novelist Maxine Kumin reads from her then-recent collection Nurture (1989), together with poems written throughout her career, as well as two poems that would go on to be collected in her next book, Looking for Luck (1992). Many of the poems consider connections between animals and humans. Kumin also reads a series of three elegies to her longtime friend Anne Sexton.

Paul Zimmer reads poems inspired by his troubled youth during the Eisenhower years, as well as several persona poems.

Poetry Center Summer Resident Noah Baldino reads new and uncollected poems. This reading was originally given with Jos Charles.

Aimee Nezhukumatathil reads poems from At the Drive-In Volcano (2007), Lucky Fish (2011), and her forthcoming collection Oceanic (2018).

Aimee Nezhukumatathil delivers an interactive talk on epistolary poems. She leads the audience in a writing exercise and discusses epistolary works by Lucille Clifton, Brian Doyle, and Carolyn Forché.

Rita Dove reads from her Collected Poems, 1974-2004 (2016) as well as from uncollected poems at the Phoenix Art Museum. This reading was originally given with Sandra Cisneros and Joy Harjo in partnership with ArchiTEXTS: A Conversation Across Languages with Natalie Diaz.