Wednesday, January 7, 7:00pm
Force of Light: A Multimedia Tribute to the Life & Poetry of Paul Celan
with Fiona Templeton & Barbez

Barbez, a critically-acclaimed "ethno-punk-cabaret" ensemble, performs Force of Light, a multimedia event that interweaves the poetry of Paul Celan with music and video. The songs have been recorded as part of the Radical Jewish Culture series on John Zorn's Tzadik label. Experimental poet, playwright and performance artist Fiona Templeton will narrate.

Cosponsored by Poets House and the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

@ Museum of Jewish Heritage
Edmond J. Safra Plaza
36 Battery Place
New York City
$12 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, $7 for Poets House Members and Museum of Jewish Heritage Members

Poetry Westchester!

Sunday, February 8, 2:00pm
Poets on Poetry: Vijay Seshadri on Elizabeth Bishop

In this talk, award-winning poet Vijay Seshadri examines the origins and scope of Elizabeth Bishop’s visionary poetry, her paradoxical relationship to the religious traditions that shaped her thought, and her ability to expose the fundamental questions underlying human experience.

This program is made possible by the Westchester Library System with funding from the Westchester County Board of Legislators. Poetry Westchester! brings free workshops and readings to Westchester County libraries.

@ Mount Pleasant Public Library
350 Bedford Road
Pleasantville, NY
(914) 769-0548
Admission free

Saturday, February 14, 3:00pm
The Literary Universe: The Library in Poetry and the Imagination
Poets House @ the 2009 AWP Conference
with Catherine Bowman, Nancy Kuhl, Geoffrey O’Brien, Nathalie Stephens & Kevin Young

From the perspectives of archivist, curator, editor, scholar and translator, a diverse group of poets explores the vital role of the library in poetic creation and preservation. This panel is for registered attendees of the AWP Conference.

@ Hilton Chicago, Astoria Room, 3rd Floor
720 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois
For details, visit www.awpwriter.org
Admission free for registered AWP Conference participants

Thursday, March 12, 7:00pm
A Tribute to Reginald Shepherd
with Timothy Donnelly, Marilyn Hacker, Timothy Liu, Kevin Prufer, Evie Shockley, Susan Stewart & Yerra Sugarman

A beloved and admired poet, critic and teacher, Reginald Shepherd (1963-2008) inspired many with his passionate commitment to poetry, an art he viewed as inextricably connected to history, politics and everyday life. Raised in housing projects in the Bronx, he went on to publish five collections of poetry; a collection of essays, Orpheus in the Bronx: Essays on Identity, Politics, and the Freedom of Poetry; and two anthologies.

Cosponsored by Cave Canem and the New York University Creative Writing Program.

@ Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House, NYU
58 West 10th Street (bet. 5th and 6th Avenues)
Admission free

Saturday, April 4–Saturday, April 11
The 17th Annual Poets House Showcase
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 4, 1:00–4:00pm

Catch an eyeful of what's happening in poetry today with this divergent, cacophonous display of all the new poetry and poetry-related books published in the United States in the last year. From micro-press chapbooks to masterworks from major commercial publishers, over 2,000 titles share shelf space for one week.

@ NYPL Jefferson Market Branch
425 Sixth Avenue (at West 10th Street)
For library hours, call (212) 243-4334
Admission free

Poetry Westchester!

Sunday, April 5, 2:00pm
Neglected No More: Samuel Menashe Recites His Poetry

Recipient of the first Neglected Masters award from the Poetry Foundation, Samuel Menashe gives a recital of his poetry and discusses his life and work.

This program is made possible by the Westchester Library System with funding from the Westchester County Board of Legislators. Poetry Westchester! brings free workshops and readings to Westchester County libraries.

@ Mount Pleasant Public Library
350 Bedford Road
Pleasantville, NY
(914) 769-0548
Admission free

Monday, April 13, 7:00pm
Celebrating Constantine P. Cavafy
with Mark Doty, Olympia Dukakis, Daniel Mendelsohn, Maria Tucci & Others to Be Announced

This reading of the elegiac, modernist poetry of Constantine P. Cavafy (1863-1933) features new translations by Daniel Mendelsohn, including the first English-language renderings of the poet's unfinished works.

Cosponsored by the Academy of American Poets, Alfred A. Knopf, Cooper Union and the Poetry Society of America.

@ The Great Hall
Cooper Union
7 East 7th Street (at 3rd Avenue)
Admission free

Friday, April 17, 7:00pm
Radical Precision: The Poetry of Stephen Dunn

In tribute to Stephen Dunn's 70th birthday and the publication of his latest book, What Goes On: New and Selected Poems: 1995-2009, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Gregory Djanikian, Phillis Levin, Dennis Nurkse, Alicia Ostriker and Dave Smith share the podium with the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet in a reading of his work.

Cosponsored by Barnes & Noble.

@ Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Tribeca
97 Warren Street (at Greenwich Street)
Admission free

Friday, April 17-Sunday, April 19
Barnes & Noble Bookfair to Benefit Poets House

Make a purchase and present a Poets House bookfair voucher at Barnes & Noble, Tribeca Friday, April 17-Sunday, April 19 and a percentage of the sale will be donated to Poets House. Poets House bookfair vouchers will be available at "Radical Precision: The Poetry of Stephen Dunn" and through the Poets House website. You may also participate online by shopping April 17-19 at www.bn.com/mybookfair. Please note Poets House's bookfair code is #487397. We appreciate your support!

Cosponsored by Barnes & Noble.

@ Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Tribeca
97 Warren Street (at Greenwich Street)
Admission free

Thursday, April 23, 7:00pm
From the Dark Spring of Language:
The Poetry & Prose of Unica Zürn
with Mary Ann Caws, Pierre Joris, Jill Magi, Anna Moschovakis, Caroline Rupprecht, Frederic Tuten & Others to Be Announced

Acquainted with Henri Michaux, Hans Bellmer and various members of the Parisian circle of Surrealists, Unica Zürn (1916-1970) broke ground with her anagrammatic poetry, expressionistic prose, and chimerical drawings and paintings. Acclaimed novelists and poets read from her writings in conjunction with the exhibition, "Unica Zürn: Dark Spring," on view at the Drawing Center from April 17 to July 23.

Cosponsored by the Drawing Center.

@ The Drawing Center
35 Wooster Street (bet. Grand and Broome Streets)
Admission free

Tuesday, May 12th, 7:00PM
A Tribute to Jack Gilbert
Jack Gilbert with Jim Finnegan, Linda Gregg, Mary Karr, Henry Lyman, Meghan O'Rourke, Gerald Stern and Others to Be Announced

This event honors a thrilling American poet on the occasion of the Knopf publication of his new book, The Dance Most of All. Jack Gilbert is joined by Jim Finnegan, Linda Gregg, Mary Karr, Henry Lyman, Meghan O'Rourke and Gerald Stern.

Cosponsored by the Academy of American Poets, Alfred A. Knopf, the Creative Writing Program at New York University and the Poetry Society of America.

@ NYU Cantor Film Center
36 East 8th Street (between University Place and Greene Street)
Admission free

Friday, May 15
The House That Jack Built: A Jack Spicer Symposium

6:30pm: Panel with Dodie Bellamy, Samuel R. Delany, Kevin Killian, Jennifer Moxley & George Stanley

8:00pm: Reading with Dodie Bellamy, Anselm Berrigan, Julian T. Brolaski, CA Conrad, Samuel R. Delany, Larry Fagin, Peter Gizzi, Kevin Killian, Basil King, Douglas A. Martin, Harris Schiff, Rod Smith, George Stanley, Lewis Warsh & Karen Weiser

This symposium honors seminal San Francisco Renaissance poet, anarchist and gay activist Jack Spicer (1925-1965) and marks the publication of My Vocabulary Did This to Me: The Collected Poetry of Jack Spicer. The long-awaited volume, edited by Peter Gizzi and Kevin Killian, includes unpublished and hard-to-find works by Spicer.

Cosponsored by the Poetry Project.

@ The Poetry Project @ St. Mark's Church
131 East 10th Street (at 2nd Avenue)
$8, $7 for students and seniors, $5 for Poetry Project Members
Free to Poets House Members and Supporting Poetry Project Members

Tuesday, May 26 & Wednesday, May 27
Italian Poetry Now
with Maria Attanasio, Carla Billitteri, Giovanna Frene, Marco Giovenale, Milli Graffi & Jennifer Scappettone

Featuring the best of Italy's experimental and emergent poets, this panel and reading introduce a diverse array of new voices to U.S. readers. Discussion among these poets, who also work as critics, translators and editors, promises to reveal intriguing points of conflict and confluence within Italian and global poetics.

Cosponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute, Litmus Press and the Poetry Project.

Tuesday, May 26, 6:00pm: Panel
@ Italian Cultural Institute
686 Park Avenue (bet. 68th and 69th Streets)
Admission free

Wednesday, May 27, 8:00pm: Poetry Reading
@ The Poetry Project @ St. Mark’s Church
131 East 10th Street (at 2nd Avenue)
$8, $7 for students and seniors, $5 for Poetry Project Members
Free to Poets House Members and Supporting Poetry Project Members

Monday, June 8, 6:30pm
The 14th Annual Poetry Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge to Benefit Poets House

Join Hettie Jones, Galway Kinnell, Thomas Lux, Natasha Trethewey and Kevin Young for this unforgettable literary pilgrimage over the bridge that inspired Hart Crane, Walt Whitman and generations of poets. The event begins near City Hall, pauses for readings under Roebling's famous arches and culminates in a recitation at Brooklyn's historic Fulton Ferry Landing. The evening concludes with a festive dinner at Bubby's Brooklyn with special guest Bill Murray.

Tickets begin at $250 ($225 for Poets House Members). All proceeds benefit Poets House. Reservations are required. For more information or to make reservations, contact Krista Manrique at (212) 431-7920, ext. 2211 or krista@poetshouse.org

Wednesday, June 10, 7:00pm
Poetic City: A Celebration of Poets House
in an Outdoor Evening of Poetry & Music
with Special Guest Meredith Monk

This pre-housewarming party celebrates our almost-ready home in Battery Park City with readings by poets Jane Hirshfield, Major Jackson, Ed Sanders, and Brenda Shaughnessy and top recording artists Joy Askew, Don Byron and Vijay Iyer performing remixes of the compositions of Meredith Monk. A groundbreaking vocalist, composer and choreographer/director, Monk uses the sounds of the voice as an "an eloquent language in and of itself." A tour of local literary sights begins at 6:00pm at Rockefeller Park's pavilion, the same site as the reading.

Cosponsored by the Battery Park City Authority and the House Foundation for the Arts.

@ Nelson A. Rockefeller Park in Battery Park City
(1, 2, 3, A, C to Chambers Street. Walk west on Chambers Street, cross into the park at River Terrace and head south to the pavilion)
Admission free

The date for this event has been changed to:
Sunday, July 12, 1:00pm: Panel, 3:00pm: Reading
Writing the Hudson River: 400 Years of Poetic Discovery
A Panel & Reading with Wayne Franklin, Judith Richardson,
Nancy Willard, Mark Wunderlich & Others to Be Announced

In celebration of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's voyage to New York Harbor, leading poets and scholars gather to discuss the cultural and environmental tributaries that have flowed through the literature of the Hudson River Valley, from Native American poetic traditions to the urban pastoral poetry of John Ashbery.

Cosponsored by Wave Hill, with support from the New York City Environmental Fund of the Hudson River Foundation.

@ Wave Hill
West 249th Street and Independence Avenue, Bronx, NY
(Metro-North Hudson Line to Riverdale)
For directions, call (718) 549-3200
$6, free to Poets House Members and Wave Hill Members