And I'm happy that you all found your way here at this hour.
Tucson Weekly announced that it would be at 8 o'clock
this evening, so I hope not too many people
are disappointed tonight.
Writers at Work has a reading this coming Wednesday
in this auditorium.
Their visitor is Tim O'Brien, and the MFA student reading
with him is Heather Aronson.
And our next reading was originally
scheduled for this Wednesday night.
And when I realized I'd goofed and scheduled
against Writers at Work, we moved the student reading
to Thursday Night.
So it's Thursday the 14th in the art museum.
And the readers will be Kevin Conder, Leslie Heywood, Bill
Marsh, and Valeria Martinez.
That's 8:00 PM, Thursday night.
And then our last reading for the semester
will be the following Wednesday night, the 20th.
And we'll honor the contributors to Persona Magazine.
There's another reading next week, Saturday at 2 o'clock
at the Poetry Center lawn, where you'll all
be going this afternoon after the reading.
And that's, among other things, celebration.
And Elizabeth Evans will be reading from her fiction.
Elizabeth read for us last semester.
If you missed her, then she's a wonderful reader.
And there will be poetry readings
by the, among other things, organizers, Bill Marsh, Roger
Hecht, Michael Magoolaghan, and Becky Byrkit,
that Saturday at 2:00 PM in the afternoon.
Let's hope it's cooler and not so windy.
Please come to the Poetry Center after the reading
and meet Tomas and Monica Transtromer.
We moved the refreshments indoors
where it's cooler and not so windy.
If you haven't been to the Poetry Center,
we're at the corner of Speedway and Highland,
1086 North Highland.
It's exactly two blocks that way.
This afternoon's reception is especially
to thank those of you who have been
so generous to give to the Poetry Center Friends
organization.
If you've not given, we hope you'll
want to support us today.
Of course, we don't expect students to give us money.
It's most unusual that we are able to present
a long series like this without charging any admission.
And the day we have to charge admission for poetry readings,
I'll turn in my resignation.
But we do need support from our friends,
and many of our friends have been very generous.
The gifts range from $5 to $1,000.
The money is put into an account at the University of Arizona
Foundation.
And we've raised almost $20,000 the last two years.
We don't spend it.
We will be spending, when we need to,
the earnings from the money.
But we want the account to grow to take care of us
in bad times.
Last Thursday, Miss Abernathy and I
were scurrying around, trying to complete a grant application
to the Arizona Arts Commission.
And I was muttering and cursing and saying ugly things
and saying, this is a stupid job,
and I wish I didn't have it.
And then Friday, I went to the airport
and picked up Tomas and Monica.
And I said, what a wonderful job.
[LAUGHTER] I'd do this even if they didn't pay me.
I wish you all could have been at my house
this morning when Tomas and a friend
were playing four-hand piano music.
I wish you all had the privilege that I
have to spend a little time with the wonderful visitors who
come.
This is Tomas Transtromer's fourth visit
to the Poetry Center.
Most of his work has been translated into English.
He has a collected poems from a British press called
Bloodaxe and a Selected Poems, 1954 to 1986 from Echo Press.
His last Swedish publication was Det Vilda Torget, which
means "The Wild Marketplace".
Ironwood 13 was a special issue dedicated totally
to his work, which I'm sure you would enjoy
seeing at the Poetry Center.
It's a wonderful issue.
His honors include Sweden's Bonnier prize,
West Germany's Petrarch prize.
In addition to writing, he's also a psychologist.
His wife, Monica, as I've said, is with him.
She works as a nurse.
They live in Vasteras, Sweden.
In honor of this tour that he's doing this Spring,
Oyez Press has put out a beautiful broadside
of his poem, "Vermeer", which he will
read for us this afternoon.
And do you have that picture with you?
Yes.
He's also got a postcard reproduction of the Vermeer
painting that the picture--
that the poem concerns.
So he'll show that to you if you're good.
And these will be for sale for $2.00 after the reading.
It is a great privilege to introduce
to you, Tomas Transtromer.
[APPLAUSE]