Acclaimed author to speak during National Poetry Month celebration

MOUNT VERNON – The Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County will present two special events featuring acclaimed author Daniel Mark Epstein to kick off National Poetry Month. 

A best-selling poet, dramatist and biographer, Epstein’s honors include awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation, as well as the prestigious Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Mount Vernon Mayor Matt Starr will celebrate Epstein’s contributions to local literary life by issuing a proclamation honoring him as the 2023 Poet Laureate and proclaiming April National Poetry Month in the city of Mount Vernon.

On Saturday, April 1, at 10 a.m. Epstein will read from his collection "Dawn to Twilight: New and Selected Poems," then join in conversation with Kenyon Review Editor Emeritus David H. Lynn. Light refreshments will be served, and complimentary copies of Epstein’s poetry collection will be offered to attendees while supplies last. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. in Veterans Hall at the Knox Memorial Building, 112 E. High St. in Mount Vernon.

At 1:30 p.m., the library will partner with the Brown Family Environmental Center to host a generative poetry workshop with Epstein. No experience is required; attendees need only arrive prepared to compose a poem and bring something to write with. The workshop is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required. Send an email to knoxwrites1@gmail.com by Friday, March 31, at 5 p.m. to secure a spot in the workshop. The Brown Family Environmental Center is located at 9781 Laymon Road in Gambier. Doors open at 1:15 p.m. There is ample parking in front of the BFEC, and the building is fully ADA accessible.

The library is honored to host Epstein for both these exciting events, and invites the public to join in celebrating the “joy, expressiveness and pure delight” of poetry. These events are made possible with support from community partners at the Brown Family Environmental Center and Mount Vernon Arts Consortium.

The National Poetry Foundation began celebrating National Poetry Month in 1996. Since then, it has become “the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K-12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, bloggers and – of course – poets marking poetry’s important place in our culture and our lives every April,” according to poets.org.

All Library events are free and open to the public. To register for the poetry workshop, email knoxwrites1@gmail.com. For more information about the Library’s National Poetry Month events, visit www.knox.net, email knoxwrites1@gmail.com, or call 740-392-BOOK ext. 259.