The English Department’s Visiting Writers Series invites you to an evening with poet Mark Irwin on October 14th at 7:30 PM in Letterman Building 125.

Who is Mark Irwin?

Mark Irwin is a multiple award-winning (including four Pushcart prizes and fellowships from the Fulbright, Lilly, Wurlitzer Foundations and the National Endowment for the Arts), accomplished poet and translator. His American Urn: New & Selected Poems (1987-2014) appears in 2015.

What does he write?

Mark Irwin’s poetry is most commonly noted for the commentary on the world in which we live. John Ashbury indicates that “Mark Irwin’s poetry is astir with liquid light, light wind, leaves, blossoms, and the slight but weighty questions that anchor us in his trembling landscapes.” It seems Irwin’s poems embody the world through a grandiose and colorful lens. And as M.S. Merwin notes, Irwin’s “subtlety of ear, of phrasing, of language all together, and a light-play of feeling…” add to the experience of his poems. Irwin’s poems have been compared to music that is compassionate and fearless. One thing is for sure: Irwin’s poetry is bound to make you look at the world in a different light.

Where does he live and teach?

He lives in Colorado, and Los Angeles, where he teaches in the Ph.D. in Creative Writing and Literature Program at the University of Southern California.

Meet Mark October 14th at 7:30 PM in Letterman Building 125.

All students and faculty are encouraged to attend. If you plan to attend, please add the event to your calendar and tell your friends on social media.