Hope is celebrating National Poetry Month with five special readings throughout the month of April.
Kicking off the celebration is Jean Valentine, who will read Monday, April 1 at 4 p.m. in Winants Auditorium of Graves Hall. Dream Barker, Valentine’s first book, won the Yale Younger Poets Award. She has written eleven books of poetry including: Break the Glass, National Book Award for Poetry winner Door in the Mountain, and The Cradle of the Real Life. Also, be sure to check out her other books.
Following Valentine’s reading is third-generation Korean American Gary Pak on Tuesday, April 2 at 4 p.m. in Fried-Hemenway Auditorium. His books include The Watcher of Waipuna and Other Stories, A Ricepaper Airplane, and Children of a Fireland.
On Thursday, April 11, Mark Hillringhouse will read at 7 p.m. in Winants Auditorium of Graves Hall. Hillringhouse’s writing and photography have appeared in “American Poetry Review,” “The New York Times,” and “View Camera.” He is the recipient of several poetry fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and he recently published a series of portraits of the New York School poets. He also recently published a photo essay, “Passaic River Journal,” in the “American Poetry Review.”
Ed Hirsch will read through VWS on Thursday, April 18 at 7 p.m. in the Knickerbocker Theater. For the Sleepwalkers, Hirsch’s first collection, was awarded the Lavcan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets. His other collections include: Wild Gratitude, Special Orders, On Love, and Lay Back the Darkness. He is also the author of the national bestseller How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry.
The month will wrap up with a reading by Hope senior creative writing majors on Friday, April 19 at 4 p.m. in Fried-Hemenway Auditorium. Students will read original work from their four years at Hope.
–Madalyn Muncy, Library Student Blogger