In Praise of Poetry

From Kenyon News - October 25, 2013

Acclaimed poet Carl Phillips delivers the keynote lecture at the Kenyon Review Literary Festival on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 8 p.m.         

The free lecture takes place at the Gund Gallery Community Foundation Theater, and it crowns the literary festival that also features a book sale, poetry readings, and a dramatic reading of the Sophocles play Philoctetes as translated by Phillips in 2004.             

Phillips will travel to Gambier after receiving the Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement in New York City on Nov. 7. Phillips becomes the twelfth literary lion to receive the award. Phillips, professor in the departments of English and African and African American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, has published 12 books of poetry, including Silverchest (2013) and Double Shadow (2011), which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.        

“In honoring our youngest author to date, Carl Phillips, we bring attention to an African-American poet who is among the most distinguished writers of his generation,” said David Lynn ’76, editor of the Kenyon Review and professor of English. “Charismatic and yet unassuming, brilliant and witty, Carl will surely entertain and inspire students and community members alike.”               

Lynn founded the literary festival in 2007, five years after establishing the literary achievement award. “The literary festival was a goal I’d long envisioned – a chance to celebrate how writing and literature are part of Kenyon’s bones, its identity,” Lynn said. “For generations, the college has been known for its literary heritage, and a festival would provide an opportunity for excitement and engagement. We have been able to bring outstanding authors to Gambier for a fuller engagement with the community.”              

All literary events are free and open to the public and they include:

• Empty Bowls Dinner, hosted by the Kenyon College Craft Center and featuring ceramic bowls hand-crafted by community members and auctioned to raise money for Food for the Hungry in Knox County, on Friday, Nov. 8, 5 p.m., in Peirce Hall.
• A reading with poet, essayist and translator Rowan Ricardo Phillips, who wrote The Ground, on Friday, Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m., Peirce Hall.
• “Literature in Translation” panel discussion, including Professor of English Jennifer Clarvoe; Associate Professor of German Paul Gebhardt, Associate Professor of Spanish Katherine Hedeen, and Rowan Ricardo Phillips, on Saturday, Nov. 9, 11 a.m., Gund Gallery Community Foundation Theater.
• Dramatic reading of Philoctetes and discussion featuring members of the Kenyon departments of Dance, Drama & Film and Classics, on Saturday, Nov. 9, 1:30 p.m., Gund Gallery Community Foundation Theater.
• Poetry reading with Maggie Smith, author of The Well Speaks of Its Own Poison and Lamp of the Body, at the Kenyon College Bookstore, on Saturday, Nov. 9, 3:30 p.m.
• Sidewalk sale outside the Kenyon College Bookstore, featuring Kenyon Review preview books, on Saturday, Nov. 9, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
• The Denham Sutcliffe Memorial Lecture: An Evening with Carl Phillips, followed by a book signing, at the Gund Gallery Community Foundation Theater, on Saturday, Nov. 9, 8 p.m.        

To learn more about the literary festival call 740-427-5391 and visit Kenyonreview.org. The literary festival is supported by the Ariel Corporation, Community Foundation of Mount Vernon and Knox County, Denham Sutcliffe Memorial Lecture Series, First-Knox National Bank, Kenyon Academic Partnership, Kenyon College Bookstore, Kenyon College Craft Center, Kenyon College Library, Ohio Arts Council, Paragraphs Bookstore, Peoples Bank, and the Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County.

[VIDEO] Carl Phillips discusses Double Shadow, his newest book of poetry at Washington University in St. Louis.