The Hamilton College English Department, Burke Library, Emerson Gallery and Creative Writing Program, in conjunction with Colgate University, are hosting a conference on April 28-May 1 to observe the centenary of American poet and critic Ezra Pound's graduation from Hamilton. From 1903 to 1906 Pound studied Anglo-Saxon and Romance languages at Hamilton.
Confirmed plenary speakers are Peter Nicholls (University of Sussex), Jean Michel Rabaté, (University of Pennsylvania), Gail McDonald (UNC Greensboro). Poetry readings by Charles Bernstein (University of Pennsylvania), Stephen Romer, University of Tours), Rachel Blau DuPlessis (Temple University).Other confirmed participants: Filmmaker Bernard Dew, Ming Xie (University of Toronto), Michael Coyle (Colgate University), Demetres Tryphonopoulos (University of New Brunswick).
Pound is often called "the poet's poet" because his profound influence on 20th century writing in English. Pound believed that poetry is the highest of arts. He studied languages at the University of Pennsylvania, and befriended there the young William Carlos Williams (1883-1963), who gained later fame as a poet in New York's avant-garde circles. From 1903 to 1906 Pound studied Anglo-Saxon and Romance languages at Hamilton College.
