News Release — March 21, 2005

Ransom Center Celebrates National Poetry Month in April

EVENT: The University of Texas at Austin's Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center celebrates the 10th annual National Poetry Month with free weekly Poetry on the Plaza events in April.

WHEN: Held Wednesdays at noon during April, the weekly Poetry on the Plaza events include a diverse line-up.

• Wednesday, April 6: "The Beats" features Tina Marsh, jazz vocalist; Brian Doherty, lecturer in the university's Department of English; and Dafydd Wood, Ph.D. candidate in comparative literature. Music includes some of Steve Lacey's arrangements of Bryon Gysin texts, and readings include works by Jack Kerouac.
• Wednesday, April 13: "Geographies" features Robin Doughty and Paul Adams from the university's Geography Department.
• Wednesday, April 20: "Slam" welcomes Mike Henry, host of Austin's Slam Channel. Austin is home to some of the finest slam poets on the national scene, four of whom will be performing with Mike.
• Wednesday, April 27 features "Forty Acres of Words." Ten undergraduate and graduate students will read their own works as well as works that have been particularly meaningful to them.

WHERE: The readings take place on the plaza east of the Ransom Center's main entrance. The Center is located at the northeast corner of 21st and Guadalupe on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. In inclement weather, readings will be held in the Ransom Center's lobby.

BACKGROUND: Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month brings together publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops and other events. Since its inception, the goal of National Poetry Month has been to increase the visibility, presence and accessibility of poetry in our culture.

The Ransom Center's Poetry on the Plaza series celebrates the works of authors, especially those whose papers are housed at the Center. Readers are drawn from the local community and have included professors and students at the university as well as local actors and authors. Poetry on the Plaza is free and open to the public.