Poets Wanted: Dead or Alive

In 2013 I started a presentation series as poet laureate for the city of Redmond, Washington. These free presentations went from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Redmond Regional Library, and have featured biographical details, the reading and discussion of key poems by each poet, plus video interpretations (from YouTube) of the poet’s poetry, biographical information, or other information. We have occasionally scheduled special guests, such as students of Octavio Paz and Theodore Roethke, or have had unexpected guests, such as a poet and translator who came to the Rumi presentation dressed somewhat like Rumi, and helping to share the poems in the original language, plus his translations. The following is a list of past presentations. I can give these presentations at other locations at any time.

2013–2014

30 October 2013 E. E. Cummings (October 14, 1894 – September 3, 1962)

29 January 2014 Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273) (see photo below)

30 April Emily Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886)

30 July Pablo Neruda (July 12, 1904 – September 23, 1973)

2015

21 January Octavio Paz (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998)

28 January Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963)

11 February Bashō (1644 – 1694)

18 February Rabindranath Tagore (May 7, 1861 – August 7, 1941)

25 February Theodore Roethke (May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963)

2016

11 February Sylvia Plath (October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963)

16 February William Stafford (January 17, 1914 – August 28, 1993)

23 February Maya Angelou (April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) (in celebration of Black History Month)

1 March Dr. Seuss (March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991) (March 2 was Dr. Seuss Day)

15 March Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955)

22 March Shel Silverstein (September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999)

29 March Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997)

2017

28 February Issa (June 15, 1763 – January 5, 1828)

7 March William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963)

21 March Denise Levertov (October 24, 1923 – December 20, 1997)

28 March Dylan Thomas (October 27, 1914 – November 9, 1953)

Possible future presentations include Mary Oliver, W. S. Merwin, Lewis Carroll, Lorine Niedecker, T. S. Eliot, Cid Corman, Tomas Tranströmer, Shiki, Buson, William Shakespeare, and others.

My “Poets Wanted: Dead or Alive” presentation featuring the poetry of Rumi at the Redmond Library in Redmond, Washington on 10 February 2014.

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