David Baker, professor of English at Denison University, will read poems from his latest works on Thursday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. in the Austin Reading Room of the Jereld R. Nicholson Library at Linfield College.
“Scavenger Loop” constructs a layered natural history of the Midwest and traces the complex story of human habitation from family and village life. It examines the evolving nature of work and the mysterious habitats of the heart. “Scavenger Loop” pushes new stylistic methods; it moves between order and disorder and uses narratives in fragments, cross-outs and eliminations. “Never-Ending Birds” is an exploration narrative told in four sections: a map, a travelogue, a chronicle and an autobiography. Many of the poems travel through landscapes and neighborhoods with portraits of neighbors and people, lifestyles, animals and nature.
Baker is the author of 11 books of poetry, most recently “Scavenger Loop” and “Never-Ending Birds,” which won the Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Prize in 2011. His five books of prose include “Show Me Your Environment: Essays on Poetry, Poets, and Poems” and “Radiant Lyre: Essays on Lyric Poetry.” He has received awards and grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Mellon Foundation and Society of Midland Authors. He is the Thomas B. Fordham Chair at Denison University and also teaches frequently in the Warren Wilson MFA program for writers. He is poetry editor of The Kenyon Review.
This reading is part of the “Readings at the Nick” series. The lecture is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the Linfield Nicholson Library and the Linfield English Department. For more information, contact Susan Barnes Whyte at 503-883-2517, swhyte@linfield.edu.
