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Reginald Gibbons is the author
of several books of poetry,

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including It's Time, Sparrow:
New and Selected Poems,

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and In the Warhorse, a
chapbook of political poems,

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some of which were
removed by editors

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from earlier collections.

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Reggie Gibson is the author
of Storms Beneath the Skin,

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which received the Golden
Pen Award, and also

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the author of Spoken
Word Poems, performed

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by Larenz Tate in the feature
length film Love Jones.

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Gibbons has translated
numerous poets, including

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Luis Cernuda and Sophocles.

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Gibson has toured with
the Chicago Mask Ensemble,

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performing dramatic adaptations
of common world myths.

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Gibbons was the editor from
1981 to '97 of TriQuarterly

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Magazine, an international
journal of new writing,

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art, and cultural inquiry.

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Gibson is the
founder of the Church

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of the Funky Word, an ensemble
of literary and musical

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artists.

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Gibbons is a recipient of
fellowships from the Guggenheim

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Foundation, the National
Endowment for the Arts,

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and the Poetry
Society of America.

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Gibson received the National
Poetry Slam Individual

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Championship of 1998.

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Gibbons is a pianist who once
had a cat that would slide down

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the open top of a baby grand.

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[LAUGHTER]

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Gibson is a singer songwriter
who volunteers at the opera,

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opening doors both
literally and figuratively.

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Gibbons recently received
the OB Hardison Award

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from the Folger
Library for excellence

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in both teaching
and writing poetry.

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Gibson presented
his work this week

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to kids in juvenile detention--
and two girls in response

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broke out in song.

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[LAUGHTER]

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Gibbons recently-- oh,
I read that one already.

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Pardon me.

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Gibbons and Gibson both
have developed strong ideas

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and have spoken eloquently about
creation myth, most recently

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here in Tucson.

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Gibbons was created in Texas
and now lives near Chicago.

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Gibson was created
in Mississippi,

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defined in Chicago, and
now lives near Boston.

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Unlike Gertrude Stein's
"Rose," a Reg, is not a Reg,

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is not a Reg.

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Two Regs don't make a right,
nor do three make a left.

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They're not necessarily here
to Reg against the machine

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or the dying of the light.

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But they will invigorate your
love of music, of language,

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of serious play, and
ineffable understanding.

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Please welcome Reginald
Gibbons and Regie Gibson.

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[APPLAUSE]

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