Boston Book Festival 2019

When a respected Harvard English professor, literary critic, and poet with several published collections of her own tells us “Don’t Read Poetry,” should we take her at her word? In Don’t Read Poetry, Stephanie Burt brings her trademark wit and enthusiasm to bear on the essential—but sometimes intimidating—prospect of reading poems. “Don’t assume poetry ever means only one thing,” writes Burt, “other than maybe a set of tools for making things with words.” In this lively, entertaining, and educational session, Burt will encourage us to let go of our assumptions about poetry and invite us to seek out poems and poets, both classic and contemporary, whose styles speak to us—and to share the poems we love with others. Joining Burt to discuss what Publishers Weekly calls an “eloquent literary primer” is poet Lillian-Yvonne Bertram, whose most recent collection is How Narrow My Escapes. Sponsored by Mass Poetry.