Des Moines Register
03-26-06
Renowned poets mix with locals in Des Moines festival
REID FORGRAVE
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
The 16th year of the Des Moines National Poetry Festival, coming up on April
Fools' Day, is the beginning of what aims to be a new age for the renowned
showcase for poets.
The festival, which has operated for years as its own entity, is beginning an
affiliation with the Des Moines Public Library. The library, which coordinates the
AViD festival (Authors Visiting Des Moines), is helping with marketing duties this
year. Next year the two festivals aspire to merge.
"It seemed to be a natural fit," said Greg Ervanian, an attorney and the president
of the board of directors for the Des Moines National Poetry Festival.
Des Moines' community-based poetry festival — one of only a few without an
academic affiliation — has always been solely funded by community donations,
local businesses and contributions from the board of directors. But since the
poetry festival and the library's program cater to similar audiences, organizers
thought it prudent to pool their marketing resources and join the two at the hip.
This year's poetry festival, which organizers say caters both to poetry aficionados
and novices, continues the city's long tradition of hosting nationally known poets.
"Our only concern every year is that we're limited to only threes," Ervanian said.
"So many great poets we haven't gotten to yet. Every national poet, when we
contact them, they know who we are."
The event will begin in the morning with a poetry reading competition for grade
school, junior high and high school students in central Iowa, who will vie for a
spot in a national poetry reading competition in Washington, D.C.
"The purpose is to practice the art of reading poetry out loud," Ervanian said. "It's
a totally different experience from reading silently or privately. It's the art of
bringing poetry to life."
The winner goes to a competition sponsored by the National Endowment for the
Arts.
In the afternoon, three Iowa poets — Mary Swander, an Iowa State professor
of English and published poet who co-authored a musical; Jim Autry, the
former head of Meredith Corp. and founder of the festival; and Michael Carey, a
southwest Iowa farmer who has authored five books of poetry — will give
readings.
That will be followed by a moderated question-and-answer session with the three
featured national poets — Mark Doty, Molly Peacock and James Tate.
At 7:30 p.m., the gala event will feature readings by the three national writers.
Doty, who lives in Houston and New York City, is the only American winner of the
T.S. Eliot Prize in Great Britain. His recent volume, "School of the Arts," was
published in 2005 by HarperCollins.
Peacock, who lives in Toronto, will be the Elliston Poet at the University of
Cincinnati, and she is currently touring with her one-woman poetry show, "The
Shimmering Verge."
Tate, who teaches at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, was awarded
the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the William Carlos Williams Award in 1992 for
his collection "Selected Poems." His most recent collection, "Worshipful
Company of Fletchers," received the National Book Award for Poetry.
Des Moines National Poetry Festival
The 16th annual Des Moines National Poetry Festival will be held Saturday at
Hoyt Sherman Place Theater, 1501 Woodland Ave. in Des Moines. The entire
event is free and open to the public. The gala event, at 7:30 p.m., features
readings from three nationally known poets: Mark Doty, Molly Peacock and
James Tate.
Other festival events on Saturday include:
9 a.m.: "Poetry Out Loud," where grade school, junior high school and high
school students will read from a list of prescribed poets. The winner of the judged
poetry reading competition will go on to a national poetry reading competition in
Washington, D.C., in April.
1 p.m.: Readings by three Iowa poets. Michael Carey, Mary Swander and Jim
Autry will read.
3 p.m.: "The Work of Poetry," a question-and-answer session with the three
national poets, Doty, Peacock and Tate. Iowa poet Michael Carey will moderate
the discussion, which will focus on the philosophies of poetry and the day-to-day
issues of writing poetry.
INFO: For more information, call Greg Ervanian at (515) 274-4173.