What: Mark Wunderlich, recipient of the 2015 UNT Rilke Prize for The Earth Avails, his third collection of poetry, will read from his work at the University of North Texas as part of the Visiting Writers Series.
When: Reception to honor Wunderlich and Q&A session with him at 6:30 p.m. April 15 (Wednesday). Reading at 8 p.m. April 16 (Thursday)
Where: Reception and Q&A session at UNT on the Square, 109 N. Elm St. in Denton. Reading in Room 180 of UNT's Business Leadership Building, 1307 W. Highland St.
Cost: Both events are free
Contact: Lisa Vining at 940-369-5981 or lisa.vining@unt.edu
DENTON (UNT), Texas -- In his latest collection of poetry, The Earth Avails, Mark Wunderlich explores the mystery and glory of the agrarian world, from coyotes and hawks to streams and weather, with about half of the poems taking the form of prayers, or "heaven letters."
The Earth Avails received this year's Rilke Prize from the Creative Writing Program in the University of North Texas' Department of English. Wunderlich will read from the collection and his other work at UNT April 16 (Thursday) to close the program's Visiting Writers Series for 2014-2015. The free event begins at 8 p.m. in Room 180 of UNT's Business Leadership Building, 1307 W. Highland St. Wunderlich will also sign copies of his book.
Wunderlich will be honored as the Rilke Prize winner during a reception April 15 (Wednesday) at UNT on the Square, 109 N. Elm St. in Denton. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. A Q&A session with Wunderlich will be part of the reception.
The $10,000 Rilke Prize, which has been given annually since 2012, recognizes a book written by a mid-career poet that demonstrates exceptional artistry and vision. The prize is named for the early 20th-century German poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who is best known for his "Duino Elegies," written from 1912 to 1922. Poetry collections published during the previous year are eligible for the prize.
Wunderlich drew inspiration for his poems in The Earth Avails from his childhood in rural Fountain City, Wisconsin. The book is currently a finalist for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award from Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California.
Wunderlich is the author of two previous books of poetry, The Anchorage, which received a Lambda Literary Award, and Voluntary Servitude. His poems have been included in Boston Review, Paris Review, Ploughshares and The Slate, among other publications. His work has been featured on NPR's "All Things Considered."
He has received fellowships and grants from the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Cultural Council and National Endowment for the Arts. Wunderlich has taught literature at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont, since 2003, and was a Jones Lecturer at Stanford University, which presented him with a Wallace Steger Fellowship. He also taught at Barnard College, Columbia University, Ohio University, San Francisco State University and Sarah Lawrence College.
Wunderlich is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and Columbia University's School of Fine Arts.