November 20, 2008
Media Contact: Anne Halsey (312) 799.8016; ahalsey@poetryfoundation.org

Poetry Presents a Theatrical Interpretation of Five Poems by Dana Levin

CHICAGO— Poetry magazine is proud to present a theatrical interpretation of five poems by Dana Levin: “Pyro,” “Above the Neck,” “Refuge Field,” “Ichor,” and “School of Flesh,” all of which first appeared in Poetry. Erupting with stunning visual imagery and a singular, soulful voice, these five poems are transformed into an evening of performance exploring the truths and consequences of loss, discovery, obsession, and redemption in the modern world.

What: “What use had I for hands”: a theatrical interpretation of five poems by Dana Levin. Conceived and directed by Valerie Jean Johnson. Devised and performed by the ensemble: Jennifer Crissey, Aaron DeYoung, Katie Eberhardy, Jennifer Guglielmi, and Kate Olsen.

When: THREE PERFORMANCES

• Friday, December 12, 8 p.m.
  
• Saturday, December 13, 8 p.m. (followed by a discussion with poet Dana Levin)
  
• Sunday, December 14, 7 p.m.

Where: Links Hall, 3435 N. Sheffield, Chicago

Admission is free; call 773.281.0824 or visit linkshall.org for reservations.

Dana Levin’s first book, In the Surgical Theatre, was awarded the 1999 American Poetry Review/Honickman First Book Prize. She has received fellowships and awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, PEN, the Witter Bynner Foundation, and the Whiting Foundation. Levin lives and teaches in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her second book is Wedding Day (Copper Canyon Press).

About Poetry Magazine
Founded in Chicago by Harriet Monroe in 1912, Poetry is the oldest monthly devoted to verse in the English-speaking world. Harriet Monroe’s “Open Door” policy, set forth in Volume I of the magazine, remains the most succinct statement of Poetry’s mission: to print the best poetry written today, in whatever style, genre, or approach. The magazine established its reputation early by publishing the first important poems of T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Marianne Moore, Wallace Stevens, H. D., William Carlos Williams, Carl Sandburg, and other now-classic authors. In succeeding decades it has presented—often for the first time—works by virtually every major contemporary poet.

Poetry has always been independent, unaffiliated with any institution or university—or with any single poetic or critical movement or aesthetic school. It continues to print the major English-speaking poets, while presenting emerging talents in all their variety. In recent years, more than a third of the authors published in the magazine have been young writers appearing for the first time. On average, the magazine receives over 90,000 submissions per year, from around the world.

For more information visit www.poetryfoundation.org

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