Pitt Hosts Internationally Renowned Poet Anne Waldman for Literary Reading Oct. 10

PITTSBURGH—Described by Publishers Weekly as a “counter-cultural giant,” poet Anne Waldman will deliver a reading drawn from her award-winning works of literature at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 10 in the University of Pittsburgh’s Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, 650 Schenley Dr., Oakland. This free public event is part of the University’s 2013-14 Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series. 

An engaging and lively presenter, Waldman has delivered readings of her poetry at conferences and festivals around the world. Her work has most recently been presented to audiences in Beijing, Berlin, Calcutta, Madrid, and Milan, among other notable international cities.  

During a literary career spanning more than 40 years, Waldman has authored more than 40 poetry collections and edited numerous anthologies. Her most recent works include Gossamurmur (Penguin Books, 2013) as well as The Iovis Trilogy: Colors in the Mechanism of Concealment (Coffee House Press, 2011), which won the 2012 PEN Center USA Literary Award for Poetry. 

Waldman’s commitment to poetry extends beyond her own work to her support of alternative poetry communities. She was a founder of The Poetry Project at St. Marks Church, a poetry house based in New York City, as well as Angel Hair Books, a small press that publishes an avant-garde poetry magazine and books. 

Waldman is the recipient of a 2013 Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts. Her awards and honors include the Dylan Thomas Memorial Award, The Poets Foundation Award, The National Literary Anthology Award, and the Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America. She also has received grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Emily Harvey Foundation, and the Civitella Ranieri Center. Waldman was appointed a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 2011. 

A native of Millville, N.J., Waldman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bennington College in 1966. In 1974, she cofounded the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University in Boulder, Colo. Waldman serves as a distinguished professor of poetics at Naropa. 

The University of Pittsburgh Writing Program and University Store on Fifth cosponsor the 2013-14 Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series season. For more information, visit www.pghwriterseries.wordpress.com or contact 412-624-6508. 

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