Berkeleyan

Lunch Poems kickoff features faculty and staff

05 September 2007

The campus's popular Lunch Poems series launches its 12th season on Thursday, Sept. 6, with a multiple-reader lineup of faculty and staff. After that, the series settles into its usual monthly focus on single poets.

Hosted by Professor of English Robert Hass and University Librarian Thomas Leonard, the kickoff reading, which starts at 12:10 p.m., features faculty and staff from a wide range of disciplines introducing and reading their favorite poems. This year's participants are Aftab Ahmad (South and Southeast Asian studies), Ben Braun (men's basketball coach), Janet Broughton (L&S dean of humanities, professor of philosophy), Jennifer Dormer (Library), E. Bond Francisco (physical plant - campus services), Cecil Giscombe (English), Lucia Jacobs (psychology), Kathleen McCarthy (classics and comparative literature), Paul Parish (Faculty Club), and Kay Richards (East Asian languages and cultures, Center for Korean Studies).

The rest of this year's lineup includes John Matthias (Oct. 4), Amiri Baraka (Nov. 1), Monica de la Torre (Dec. 6), Arthur Sze (Feb. 7, 2008), Diane Di Prima (March 6), and Jessica Fisher (April 3). The annual student reading will take place on May 1, 2008.

All readings are free and are held from 12:10 to 12:50 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. The location is the Morrison Library, inside Doe Library's north entrance.

For further information, including webcasts of last year's readings,
visit lunchpoems.berkeley.edu or call 642-0137.