ATHENS, Ga. – Noted poet Clayton Eshleman, recipient of the National Book Award for his cotranslation of Cesar Vallejo, will visit the University of Georgia Nov. 4-6. Eshelman’s visit is part of the Lanier Speakers Series, free public lectures sponsored by UGA’s Department of English.
Eshleman is the author of twelve volumes of poetry and two books of essays, the founder and editor of two seminal and esteemed literary magazines and professor emeritus at Eastern Michigan University.
On Nov. 4, Eshleman will present “Upper Paleolithic Imagination and the Construction of the Underworld,” a talk augmented by slides of prehistoric cave painting in Park Hall room 265 at 4:30 p.m. A foremost scholar of the Ice Age cave art of southwestern France, poet Gary Snyder has said Eshelman “draws out the underground of myth, psychology, prehistory, and the first turn of the human mind toward the modern…(he) opens us up to our ancient selves.” A reception immediately follows this talk.
On Nov. 5, Eshleman will address English classes on the topic of surrealism and its influence on writers whose work he has translated, Aime Cesaire and Antonin Artaud. (Please call Suzi Wong at the number above to attend.)
On Nov. 6, Eshleman will speak about his experience as editor of two influential and long-lived literary magazines, Caterpillar and Sulfur. The Creative Writing Program at UGA hosts this event with coffee and breakfast snacks in Park Hall room 261 at 10 a.m. At 4:30 p.m., Eshleman will give a reading of his poetry, including a manuscript of recent work, in Park Hall room 265.
His recent books Juniper Fuse (Wesleyan U Press), Companion Spider (Wesleyan U Press), and Everwhat (Zasterle Press, Canary Islands), as well as some of his translations will be available for sale and signing.