AMHERST, MA - Poet Susan Kinsolving and actor Jack Gilpin bring the words of poets Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman to life in "The Mother and Father of American Poetry," a presentation that explores why both poets rightly deserve these roles in the literary canon. The program will take place at the Amherst Woman's Club, Triangle Street, Amherst, Mass., May 8 at 7:30 p.m. Program fee is $15 adults, $5 youth/students in advance; $18 adults, $8 youth/students at the door.  Call 413-542-2034 to make reservations.

In this lively presentation Kinsolving and Gilpin compare and contrast Dickinson and Whitman through selected themes. Though their approaches differed, Dickinson and Whitman often dealt with similar themes such as nature and death. Both poets independently broke with the tradition of English poetry to create innovative and provocative work. They originated American poetry, changed the course of American literature and still influence it today. 

Susan Kinsolving's recent book of poems, The White Eyelash, won the Friends of Literature Award and received praise from The Los Angeles Times, Poetry and Publisher's Weekly. She teaches poetry in the Bennington Writing Seminars. This year she is a poetry fellow at the Bogliasco Foundation in Italy and Hawthornden Castle, Scotland. As a librettist, her works have been performed internationally.
           
Actor Jack Gilpin has performed leading roles on and off-Broadway and in major regional theaters, including the Guthrie, Long Wharf, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, O'Neill Theatre Center, Hartford Stage, Barrington Stage, and The Kennedy Center. His many television credits include Law & Order, The Cosby Show, and two years as Roger on Kate & Allie. He has appeared in more than thirty feature films, including Funny Farm, Quiz Show, Something Wild, and Reversal of Fortune.

 

 

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