Poetry lovers were treated last week to an evening with award winning American poet August Kleinzahler, who made his first visit to Dumfries after a barnstorming appearance at Stanza, Scotland’s Poetry Festival in St Andrews.
The first half of the evening was an interesting discussion with August, facilitated by Lilias Fraser, Reader Development Officer at the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh. Lilias asked August to choose and read five poems from different poets, which he did with great personality. The poets chosen were varied, from the rugged force of Adam Drinan, a little known Scottish poet of the mid 20th century, to a fantastic poem, “Lufthansa”, from the Australian poet John Tranter, with its extraordinary sense of vertigo and a very human discontinuity of reflection and impression. August’s discussion with Lilias was both interesting and accessible to listen to, and much appreciated by the audience.
August then read from his own work. He was a great reader, with a big presence on stage, his work both lyrical and peppered with the colloquial:
“The ceiling and walls are star maps/ breathing, alive/ Those aren’t stars, darling/ That’s your nervous system/ Nanna didn’t take you to planetariums like this/Go on, touch/ Lovely, isn’t it/ Like phosphorus on Thule Lake” (extract from Hyper-Berceuse: 3am).
Poetry lovers in the region have more to look forward to, with news of leading contemporary poet Les Murray confirming a visit to Dumfries on 9th June. For further information please contact Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association on 01387 253383.
The first half of the evening was an interesting discussion with August, facilitated by Lilias Fraser, Reader Development Officer at the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh. Lilias asked August to choose and read five poems from different poets, which he did with great personality. The poets chosen were varied, from the rugged force of Adam Drinan, a little known Scottish poet of the mid 20th century, to a fantastic poem, “Lufthansa”, from the Australian poet John Tranter, with its extraordinary sense of vertigo and a very human discontinuity of reflection and impression. August’s discussion with Lilias was both interesting and accessible to listen to, and much appreciated by the audience.
August then read from his own work. He was a great reader, with a big presence on stage, his work both lyrical and peppered with the colloquial:
“The ceiling and walls are star maps/ breathing, alive/ Those aren’t stars, darling/ That’s your nervous system/ Nanna didn’t take you to planetariums like this/Go on, touch/ Lovely, isn’t it/ Like phosphorus on Thule Lake” (extract from Hyper-Berceuse: 3am).
Poetry lovers in the region have more to look forward to, with news of leading contemporary poet Les Murray confirming a visit to Dumfries on 9th June. For further information please contact Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association on 01387 253383.
