August 9, 2005 Three Poets Open Poetry at Noon Series on Sept. 27

Three poets, Kwame Alexander, Patricia Clark and Kim Roberts, will open the 2005-2006 Poetry at Noon series at the Library of Congress with three 15-minute readings at noon on Tuesday, Sept. 27, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The theme is “Singing the Body Electric,” and the event, sponsored by the Office of Scholarly Programs, is free and open to the public. Tickets or reservations are not required.

The Poetry at Noon series is also scheduled for the following dates, on Tuesdays, (except for Wednesday, April 19) in the Mary Pickford Theater:

• Oct. 25, “Saints and Sinners”
• Dec. 6, readings by Virginia poets
• Feb. 14, “Love Poems”
• April 19, “Shakespeare’s Birthday”
• May 23, “Imaginary Places”

Kwame Alexander is the author of eight books, including “Kupenda: Love Poems” and “Do the Write Thing: 7 Steps to Publishing Success.” Alexander is also a playwright, publishing consultant and lecturer. He has been featured in the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, Detroit Metro-Times and on Black Entertainment Television’s “Tonight with Tavis Smiley.” Alexander splits his time between Washington, D.C., and California, where he is at work on several television shows and book projects.

Patricia Clark, the poet laureate for the city of Grand Rapids, Mich., is a professor in the Writing Department and poet-in-residence at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich. She is the author of “My Father on a Bicycle” (Michigan State University Press, 2005) and “North of Wondering” (1999). Clark is also the co-editor of an anthology of contemporary women writers called “Worlds in Our Words.” Her poems have appeared in a variety of journals, including The Atlantic Monthly, Poetry Magazine, Slate, New England Review and Seattle Review.

Kim Roberts coordinated the DC Celebration of the 150th anniversary of Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” this spring. She is the author of “The Wishbone Galaxy,” a collection of poems. Published in more than 20 journals, Roberts has been the recipient of grants from the DC Commission on the Arts, the DC Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanties. She has been awarded many residency grants, including ones from Hidden River Arts Center, New York Mills Artists’ Retreat, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico and the Millay Colony for the Arts.