Philip Levine, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award among other honors, and Ken Arkind, a nationally-recognized slam poet, share their work and answer questions at this one-of-a-kind event featuring two very different artists. Emceed by UW English professor and novelist Shawn Wong.

Celebrate imagination, voice, and persistence this April.
Celebrate National Poetry Month.

April 19, 2011 | 7 p.m.

Kane Hall | Map to Kane Hall

RSVP for priority seating

Philip Levine "is a large, ironic Whitman of the industrial heartland" who, according to Edward Hirsch in the New York Times Book Review, should be considered "one of [America's] . . . quintessentially urban poets."

He was born in 1928 to Russian-Jewish immigrants in Detroit, a city that inspired much of his writing. Author of 20 collections of poetry, his most recent is News Of The World (Knopf, 2009). The Simple Truth won the Pulitzer Prize in 1995. What Work Is won the National Book Award in 1991. David Baker writes, “What Work Is may be one of the most important books of poetry of our time. Poem after poem confronts the terribly damaged conditions of American labor, whose circumstance has perhaps never been more wrecked." Levine is known as the poet of the working class, and he remains dedicated to writing poetry "for people for whom there is no poetry.”

As well as having received the Pulitzer Prize and two National Book Awards, Levine is also the recipient of the National Book Critics Award and the Ruth Lily prize. He divides his time between Brooklyn, NY, and Fresno, CA.

Levine’s poem, “What Work Is,” is featured in the 2010 UW Common Book.

"Levine’s use of simple prose-like language and incredible depth of insight into the romance of work and struggle seemed like the perfect choice. He is a poet who could knock students used to reading Shakespeare and Milton into the poetry of today and tell them a thing or two about life along the way."
--Sam Kolodezh, student ambassador for the UW Common Book, on the inclusion of "What Work Is" in the Common Book.

“I saw that the people that I was working with…were voiceless in a way. In terms of the literature of the United States they weren’t being heard. Nobody was speaking for them. And as young people will, you know, I took this foolish vow that I would speak for them and that’s what my life would be. And sure enough I’ve gone and done it. Or I’ve tried anyway…”
--Philip Levine

UW STUDENTS: Participate in a small group discussion with Philip Levine. More info and sign up here.

Ken Arkind is a National Poetry Slam Champion, Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam Champion and full-time touring artist who has performed in almost all of the lower 48 states, Hawaii, Canada, and at more than 200 colleges and universities. With Panama Soweto, he is one-half of The Dyamic Duo, the nation’s most-highly-booked spoken word act.

Arkind has been featured in the documentaries “SPIT!” and “Slamplanet” as well as on HBO, CBS, NBC, and Borders.com’s Open Door Poetry series alongside former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins. A regular fixture in the Denver music scene, Arkind has opened for such acts as The Flobots, Gil Scott Heron, Devotchka, Sage Francis, Ani DiFranco, Cloud Cult, P.O.S., and NPR’s Amy Goodman. The only poet signed to Hot Congress Records, Arkind’s work has been published in numerous literary anthologies and journals across the country, including The Good Things About America. His first collection of poetry, I Know Why Georgia Turner Waited by the Train Tracks, will be available summer of 2011 from Penmanship Books.

He is currently the executive director and head coach for the Denver Minor Disturbance Poetry Project, an independent literary arts organization dedicated to helping Colorado youth find their voices through poetry and performance.

Arkind’s poem, “An Experiment in Noise, in A Sharp Major,” is featured in the 2010 UW Common Book.

"The selection committee wanted to have slam poetry be represented in the Common Book. We saw it as an underrepresented genre in the academic community and also saw it as a genre that really registered with students. Arkind's poem, had a message that we thought would resonate well with students. It had momentum. It had beautiful imagery. And it worked great on the page. You can't help but like him."
--Sam Kolodezh, student ambassador for the UW Common Book, on the inclusion of "An Experiment in Noise, in A Sharp Major (Poem to be Read as a Pledge)" in the Common Book.

UW STUDENTS: Participate in a small group discussion and mini-workshop with Ken Arkind. More info and sign up here.

This event is sponsored by Undergraduate Academic Affairs Office of the Dean and First Year Programs.

The University of Washington is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities, education and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation contact the Disability Services Office at least ten days in advance at 206-543-6450/V, 206-543-6452/TTY, 206-685-7264 (FAX), or e-mail dso@uw.edu.