Eastern Michigan University Presents Poet John Ciardi, 1964

Title

Eastern Michigan University Presents Poet John Ciardi, 1964

Files

Streaming Media

Performance Date

12-2-1964

Description

John Anthony Ciardi (June 24, 1916 – March 30, 1986) was an Italian-American poet, translator, and etymologist. While primarily known as a poet, he also translated Dante's Divine Comedy, wrote several volumes of children's poetry, pursued etymology, contributed to the Saturday Review as a columnist and long-time poetry editor, and directed the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference in Vermont. In 1959, Ciardi published a book on how to read, write, and teach poetry, How Does a Poem Mean?, which has proven to be among the most-used books of its kind. At the peak of his popularity in the early 1960s, Ciardi also had a network television program on CBS, Accent. In 1964, Eastern Michigan University invited Ciardi to Pease Auditorium for a reading of his poetry. Remarking that poetry is “always a statement about poetry,” Ciardi reads poems about his father, Theodore Roetke, and the poetic capabilities of university students.

Keywords

John Ciardi, poetry, Theodore Roetke, Alice in Wonderland

Permission To Use:

Permission to Use - Permission to quote from this performance should be requested from the University Archives ( lib_archives@emich.edu).​

Eastern Michigan University Presents Poet John Ciardi, 1964

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