Kay Ryan - 2009 National Book Festival

U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan appears at the National Book Festival.

Speaker Biography: Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry Kay Ryan is in her second year in the position, which is chosen annually by the Librarian of Congress. Ryan's latest book, published in 2008, is an illustrated collection of poems titled "The Jam Jar Lifeboat." It contains whimsical color illustrations by Carl Dern. Her other publications include "The Niagara River" (2005), "Say Uncle" (2000), "Elephant Rocks" (1996), "Flamingo Watching" (1994), "Strangely Marked Metal" (1985) and "Dragon Acts to Dragon Ends" (1983). She is also the author of numerous essays. Ryan describes poetry as an intensely personal experience for both the writer and the reader. Her many awards include the 2005 Gold Medal for Poetry from the San Francisco Commonwealth Club, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize from the Poetry Foundation in 2004, a Guggenheim fellowship the same year and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship as well as the Maurice English Poetry Award in 2001. She lives in California.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• library
• congress
• national
• book
• festival
• authors
• reading
• literature
• poetry