MEDIA CONTACT: English Department (585) 275-4092 or Helene Snihur (585) 275-7800

March 23, 2000

Reading by Award-Winning Poet Frank Bidart

TIME, DATE, AND PLACE: 6:30 p.m., reception; 7 p.m., reading, Thursday, April 13, Lander Auditorium in Hutchison Hall on the University of Rochester River Campus

ADMISSION: Free and open to all. Note: Parking is available on weeknights in University lots after 7 p.m.

Renowned poet and Pulitzer Prize finalist Frank Bidart will read excerpts from his work as part of the Donald R. Clark Enrichment Program in Contemporary Writing, sponsored by the Department of English at the University of Rochester.

Preceded by a reception beginning at 6:30 p.m., Bidart's presentation will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 13, in Lander Auditorium of Hutchison Hall on the University's River Campus.

Author of five volumes of poetry, such as The Book of the Body, In the Western Night: Collected Poems 1965-1990, and Desire, Bidart has been honored with several awards throughout his career. These include a Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Foundation Writer's Award, the Bobbitt National Prize from the Library of Congress, a Lannan Literary Award, the Morton Dauwen Zabel Award, the Shelley Award of the Poetry Society of America, and The Paris Review's Bernard F. Conner's Prize. Currently teaching at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Bidart is also editing a collection of poems written by Robert Lowell.

Bidart's poetry reading is free and open to the public.

About the University of Rochester

The University of Rochester (www.rochester.edu) is one of the nation's leading private universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering is complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, and the Memorial Art Gallery.

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