Programme May–August 2018
PoetryEast is an ongoing series of cultural events at the London Buddhist Centre, hosted by Maitreyabandhu, exploring the meaning and value of the arts. Each event focuses on the life and work of a single guest artist, by way of an interview and a reading. Previous guests have included Antony Gormley, Michael Frayn, Rowan Williams and Colm Tóibín. poetryeast.co.uk
Jorie Graham
Jorie Graham is the author of fifteen collections of poetry. Her honours include the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. In 2012 she was the first American woman to win the Forward Prizes for Best Collection. In 2017 she was awarded the Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets. ‘One of the finest poets writing today.’ John Ashbery. Sat 21 April, 7.30pm. £10. Booking essential.
Kei Miller
Kei Miller has written novels, books of short stories, essays and three collections of poetry. A recent book of essays won the 2014 Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature (non-fiction). Kei was named a Next Generation Poet in 2014, the same year as his book The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion won the Forward Prize for Best Collection. ‘An extraordinary new voice singing with clarity and grace.’ Olive Senior. Sat 2 June, 7.30pm. £10. Booking essential.
Michael Schmidt
A poet, scholar, critic and translator. Publications include The Novel: a biography, a companion volume to Lives of the Poets and Lives of the First Poets. Poetry collections include The Resurrection of the Body; Collected Poems and The Stories of My Life. He is general editor of PN Review and founder and managing director of Carcanet Press. ‘Vibrant, radiant, Michael Schmidt’s poetry is steeped in modernist tradition (Yeats and Eliot) and questingly new’. John Ashbery Sat 1 Sept, 7.30pm. £10. Booking essential.
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