Talented poet featured at the JWAC

David Lehman could have been just another audience member in attendance Tuesday evening to see a poetry reading. After walking casually into the Rose Firebay room at the John Waldron Arts Center, he took a seat in the front row, smiling warmly at whomever he made eye contact with as dozens of people filtered into the performance space.\nYet on this night, Lehman was the one doing the talking. Lehman, a respected and accomplished poet, gave a reading of his poems as part of a series called “Writers in Rhythm,” which combines poetry and fiction readings with music performances. The idea behind the series is to bring writers and music rhythms together to expose emerging voices, said Catherine Bowman, director of the creative writing program at IU and founder of the series.\n“I wanted to show a medley of voices and a wide range of imagination” with the poets in the series, Bowman said.\nBowman wanted Lehman to be part of the series not only because she believes he is a gifted poet, but because he edits poetry anthologies and writes books on the subject. Lehman, who is the author of six books of poems, edited “Great American Prose Poems: From Poe to the Present” and is most recently the editor of a new edition of “The Oxford Book of American Poetry,” a comprehensive anthology of poems.\nAvant-garde chamber ensemble “Barbez” performed after the reading, taking the words of poet Paul Celon and incorporating them into their music.\nSpeaking to an audience made up of mostly Master of Fine Arts students in the creative writing department, Lehman read poems from his most recent book, “When a Woman Loves a Man,” and his book “The Daily Mirror,” which is made up of the daily poems that Lehman set out to write beginning in January 1996. \nBefore the readings of the first few poems, Lehman addressed the audience with a hint of uncertainty, as if he were reading to a group of his peers for the first time. But once comfortable, he exhibited a quiet humor and gracious demeanor, which the audience positively responded to, applauding after many of the poems.\nThe “Writers in Rhythm” series is a chance for students and the Bloomington community to hear the works of great poets read aloud, which is important, Bowman said. Graduate student Heather Lynn, who is the special events assistant for the Bloomington Area Arts Council, agreed.\n“What Bowman has created is a communal experience with words,” Lynn said. “It gives emerging and established poets a chance to get their voices heard.”\nThe next installment of the “Writers in Rhythm” series will take place Friday night with Lehman hosting a journey through American poetry with readings from the “Oxford Book of American Poetry.” This free event will be held at 8 p.m. in the Rose Firebay room at the John Waldron Arts Center and is open to the public.