The English/Philosophy Department and the Creative Arts Committee is pleased to announce poet Wayne Koestenbaum's visit to MCC on Thursday, October 18.
At 12:30 p.m. Koestenbaum will conduct a "general discussion of contemporary poetics -- the different options that are open to poets today, a baffling and enticing array of possibilities, [options that include] writing in form, as well as the pleasures and perils of writing outside of form, or inventing one's own forms." This talk will be held in Room 5-331 and is free and open to MCC faculty, staff, and students.
At 7 p.m., Koestenbaum will read from his work, followed by a book signing, in the Flynn Campus Center (Monroe B). This event is free and open to the public.
Koestenbaum is a widely-respected and established poet and culture critic who holds a B.A. from Harvard and a Ph.D. in English from Princeton University. After being named co-winner of the 1989 Discovery/The Nation poetry contest, he published his first book of verse, Ode to Anna Moffo and Other Poems, which was chosen as one of The Village Voice Literary Supplement's "Favorite Books of 1990." He has since published two other books of poetry and five books of prose. His 2004 book Model Homes is written entirely in ottava rima, the traditional form of Byron’s Don Juan. In Koestenbaum’s hands this classical form is energized, in part because he understands the restrictions and limitations well enough to transcend them, in part because he colors the poems with a lively blend of high and low cultures.
Maria Brandt
ENG/PHL and Creative Arts
09/25/2007 |