Poetry Reading by Diane Ackerman, Thursday, April 19, 2018

View a recording of the event on the Smith College Libraries’ Youtube channel.

The poet, essayist, and naturalist will deliver the fifth annual Enid Mark Lecture on Poetry & Contemporary Book Arts:

Thursday, April 19, 5 p.m., Weinstein Auditorium, Wright Hall

Reception, bookselling, and signing follow the reading in the Poetry Center. Free and open to the public.

Diane Ackerman is the author of two dozen highly acclaimed works of poetry and nonfiction, including The Zookeeper’s Wife, A Natural History of the Senses, Jaguar of Sweet Laughter, Origami Bridges: Poems of Psychoanalysis and Fire, books beloved by millions of readers. In works so rich and evocative that one can feel the earth turning beneath one’s feet as one reads, Ackerman’s thrilling observations urge us to live in the moment, to wake up to nature’s everyday miracles.

The annual Enid Mark Lecture on Poetry & Contemporary Book Arts is in honor of the memory of artist, writer, and fine book publisher Enid Mark, class of 1954. Diane Ackerman’s poetry is included in three of Mark’s ELM Press books: Beyond the Map (1995), About Sylvia (1996), and Ars Botanica (2004).

Sponsored by the Mortimer Rare Book Collection of Special Collections and the Poetry Center at Smith College.

Enid Mark

Enid Mark ‘54 was passionate about words and imagery. From the 1980s until shortly before her death in 2008, Enid carefully considered all components of her books: text (her own words or those written by others, many of them modern women poets); imagery (her own artwork); type design and layout; binding. In creating her books she collaborated with a small group of New England artists, including bookbinders Barbara Blumenthal and Sarah Creighton, and printers Dan Keleher and Art Larson. Timothy Sheesley printed the illustrations in most of her books.

Enid attended the High School of Music & Art in Manhattan, then studied English literature and studio art at Smith College. She pursued painting and printmaking in the early years of her career and came to favor the technique of photolithography. In 1986, she founded the ELM Press. Her work is included in more than 100 private and public collections in the United States, Canada, England, and Israel. Enid received a 2006 Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts in recognition for her work in book arts. Among her other honors are a Pew Fellowship in the Arts and the Leeway Foundation Award for Achievement. In 2004, her book The Elements was awarded the 9th Biennial Carl Hertzog Award for Excellence in Book Design from the University of Texas/El Paso.

Assisted listening devices for Weinstein Auditorium are available by request. Please email Jen Blackburn at jblackbu@smith.edu. For other disability accommodations, please contact the Office of Disability Services at least 10 days prior to the event at ods@smith.edu

Contact

For more information please contact specialcollections@smith.edu