Bard Celebrates Poet and Professor Robert Kelly on April 21

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—Bard College will host Celebrating 50 Years as Bard’s Bard, a special event to honor poet Robert Kelly, Asher B. Edelman Professor of Literature since 1961, on Thursday, April 21, at 7 p.m. in Olin Hall. This year marks Kelly’s 50th year of distinguished teaching and writing at Bard College. Esteemed as one of the country’s most luminous contemporary poets and writers, Kelly is the author of more than 50 books of poetry, as well as several novels and collections of short fiction. The Bloomsbury Review writes, “Kelly remains a true and original voice in American poetry. He is one of the few prolific writers whose every book is a welcome revelation.” The evening features Kelly reading from his work and includes musical pieces by César Franck and Olivier Messiaen performed by special guests Robin Freund-Epstein (piano) and Bard College Conservatory of Music student Shawn Moore ’11 (violin). Poet Ann Lauterbach, David and Ruth Schwab Professor of Languages and Literature, will deliver an introduction, and the program will be followed by a reception in Olin Atrium. This event is free and open to the public.

Robert Kelly founded the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts writing program in 1980, and directed it for a dozen years. He has received numerous grants and awards, including recognition from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, the Los Angeles Times Prize for Poetry, and an honorary doctorate from SUNY Oneonta. He is the author of more than 50 books of poetry (including Red Actions, a selection of poems from 1960–93), several novels, and five collections of shorter fiction. His most recent books are May Day (poems), Fire Exit (long poem), The Book from the Sky (novel), The Logic of the World and Other Fictions (stories), and Uncertainties (forthcoming). He is at work on a new collection of shorter poems and a book of essays, manifestos, and reviews.
Visit his website for a generous collection of his work of five decades: www.rk-ology.com.


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This event was last updated on 04-04-2011

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