Thursday, September 20, 2012
U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine to visit campus, give poetry reading
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Oakland University is set to host an historic event this September, when it welcomes Philip Levine, current Poet Laureate of the United States, to campus.
Levine will interact with Honors College students on Wednesday, Sept. 26, capping the day by delivering the annual Maurice Brown Memorial Poetry reading at 5:30 p.m. in the Oakland Center Banquet Rooms. The entire university community and general public are invited to attend the reading.
A Michigan native, Levine grew up in Detroit and began working in automobile manufacturing plants at the age of 14.
He has since joined the nation’s literary elite, earning a Master’s of Fine Arts from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, publishing 20 poetry collections, and receiving multiple awards for his work, including the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for "The Simple Truth," the National Book Award for Poetry, the National Book Circle Critics Award, the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize, and the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to have Phil Levine visiting," said Dr. Graeme Harper, director of The Honors College. “Not only does Mr. Levine have personal connections to Southeast Michigan, he is one of the most significant poets writing in America today. It is a privilege to be working with our Oakland colleagues to welcome Phil Levine to our campus.”
The Maurice Brown Memorial Poetry Reading pays tribute to longtime OU professor Maurice F. Brown, who taught at Oakland from 1961 until his death in 1985.
The event is sponsored by The Honors College, in partnership with the Department of English, the Department of Writing and Rhetoric, the Meadow Brook Writing Project, Kresge Library and The Honors College Critical and Creative Society.
For more information, contact The Honors College at (248) 370-4450.