Creative Campus

CREATIVE CAMPUS TO HOST POETRY&

Poetry Reading Will Explore Poetry’s Relationship to the Visual Arts

TUSCALOOSA, ALA.––The University of Alabama Creative Campus will host a poetry reading, Poetry&, at Gorgas Library in Room 205, January 30, 2012, at 5 pm. University of Alabama professors and poets, Robin Behn and Hank Lazer, will explore how their work relates to visual arts, from finding inspiration in a painting to shaping the way the poem is formatted on a page.

The idea for Poetry& was conceived when Behn and Lazer realized they had both recently written books that were heavily influenced by other art forms.

“We were talking about our mutual involvements––poetry and art, poetry and music, Poetry&,” said Behn.

Lazer added, “We asked ourselves, what would a conversation between a poem and a painting sound like? This event is a way of exploring poetry’s extension off the page.”

Robin Behn, a professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Alabama, has recently authored The Yellow House. Hank Lazer, an English Professor and Executive Director of Creative Campus at the University of Alabama, recently published N18 (complete) of The Notebooks (of Being & Time) series. Lazer and Behn will each read pieces from their books, accompanied by works of art that inspired certain poems. They will also utilize multiple voices reading the poems and visual aides that help express the themes of their poetry. “I wanted my poetry to be where the meaning is conveyed not only through words, but also through the arrangement of the poem on the page,” Lazer said.

Lazer will be presenting his readings from N18 through multi-voice performance at Poetry&. N18 is an exploration of shape-writing on handwritten pages. He “sees” the page before writing. As with his other notebooks, Lazer created N18 completely through improvisation––one draft, no notes, no revision. Behn is a prizewinning poet and author of five books and three collections of poetry. Behn’s book The Yellow House is an experimental novella rendered in poems, whose characters move within a shifting landscape inspired by, and in turn inspiring, visual art.

Behn also draws inspiration from music, as she was first trained as a musician. Behn plays the flute and penny whistle in a four-piece band called Waxwing. Creative Campus will present the “experimental-traditional” sounds of Waxwing in conjunction with a contra dance at the University of Alabama on Friday, February 10, 2012 in Smith Hall. The dance is from 7:30 – 10:30 p.m., and is free & open to the public. Contra dance is popular across the nation because it is fun, easy to learn and requires no partner.  The night will start with contra dance lessons for beginners, followed by Waxwing’s music throughout the evening.

Under the auspices of UA's Office of Academic Affairs Creative Campus is a collaborative system connecting students, faculty, and community to nurture innovative thinkers who turn ideas into action.  Creative Campus seeks to serve as a hub of collaboration and creative activity at The University of Alabama.  At the heart of Creative Campus is the undergraduate and graduate intern program.  For more information on Creative Campus visit www.creativecampus.ua.edu.

The University of Alabama, a student-centered research university, is experiencing significant growth in both enrollment and academic quality. This growth, which is positively impacting the campus and the state's economy, is in keeping with UA's vision to be the university of Choice for the best and brightest students. UA, the state's flagship university, is an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians.

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Contact: Mischa Lewis and Alexandra E. Tucci, Creative Campus Interns, (205) 348-7884,