<html>
<body>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><br>
<b>Rumi: an 800th birthday party</b><br>
With bestselling poet Coleman Barks and <br>
Grammy Award-winning musicians Paul Winter and Glen Velez<br><br>
NEW HAVEN – Just 800 years after his birth, Rumi, the Persian scholar who
founded the Whirling Dervishes, is the top selling poet in America. On
April 27, Rumi’s most famous translator, Coleman Barks, will read Rumi’s
poems to musical accompaniment by Grammy Award-winners Paul Winter and
Glen Velez. Also performing are Poet Laureates Lisa Starr and Marjory
Wentworth.<br><br>
The performance at the Yale University Theatre, is the finale of Chabaso
Bakery’s National Poetry Month celebration. Proceeds to benefit for
Connecticut Food Bank. <br><br>
Details: Sun. April 27, 4-6 p.m., Yale University Theatre, 222 York St.,
New Haven. Tickets $25 and $75 (including a wine-and-dessert reception
with the performers after the event)
<a href="http://www.breadandpoetry.com">www.breadandpoetry.com</a><br><br>
<b>Jelaluddin Rumi:</b> Born in September 1207 in medieval Persia, Rumi
was widely recognized during his youth as a brilliant scholar and popular
teacher. Meeting in his late 30s a wandering Sufi dervish transformed
Rumi into a mystic who created an estimated 20,000 poems as oral lessons
to his students. Today, recordings of his poems have made the Billboard’s
Top 20 list, and over the last decade he has been the best selling poet
in America. Deepak Chopra notes that reading Rumi by Coleman Barks is an
ecstatic experience that will shift your awareness and give you true
exaltation of your own spirit.<br><br>
<b>Coleman Barks:</b> Over 30 years, Barks has published 19 books of Rumi
translations, including The Essential Rumi and the Soul of Rumi, which
have sold more than three-quarters of a million copies. A retired
University of Georgia professor, he is widely regarded as the man who
brought Rumi back into the public eye. He was prominently featured in two
Bill Moyers’ PBS specials, and in the prestigious Norton Anthology of
World Masterpieces.<br><br>
<b>Paul Winter:</b> A six-time Grammy Award winning soprano saxophonist,
Winter’s jazz sextet was the first jazz group to officially perform at
the White House for John F. Kennedy. In the early 1960s, his sextet
toured Latin America as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. State
Department, playing 160 concerts in 23 countries. But Winter is best
known for his 27 years of winter solstice concerts at the Cathedral of
St. John the Divine in New York, the world’s largest gothic cathedral.
<br>
<b><br>
Glen Velez:</b> A three-time Grammy winner, Velez is considered one of
the most influential percussionists our time, as well as being
responsible for a world-wide resurgence in the popularity of the frame
drum. He has performed with Suzanne Vega, Pat Metheny, John Cage, Steve
Reich, the New York City Ballet and the Israel Philharmonia. He teaches
at the Mannes School of Music, and gives master classes at the Julliard
School, Tanglewood and Manhattan School of Music.<br>
<b><br>
Lisa Starr:</b> The Poet Laureate of Rhode Island, Starr is the founding
organizer of the nationally acclaimed writing series, the Block Island
Poetry Project. She has published two collections of poetry: Days of Dogs
and Driftwood and This Place Here. Her poetry has appeared in several
journals and magazines. <br>
<b><br>
Marjory Wentworth: </b>The Poet Laureate of South Carolina, Wentworth has
been nominated three times for the prestigious Pushcart Prize. She has
published two poetry collections, Noticing Eden and in late 2007 Despite
Gravity. She serves on the Board of Directors The University of South
Carolina’s Poetry Initiative, The Poetry Society of South Carolina, and
the SC Center for the Book. <br><br>
<a href="http://www.breadandpoetry.com">www.breadandpoetry.com</a><br><br>
<br>
<pre>--
Ross Grant
203-752-0118: land
203-651-9118: air
7 Trumbull St., No. 4
New Haven, CT 06511
</pre></blockquote>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
The Yale-Readings Listserv is sponsored by the Yale Collection of
American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. To post
announcements about poetry and fiction readings, send the full text of
the announcement, including contact information, to
<a href="http://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/yale-readings">
nancy.kuhl at yale.edu.</a> Messages sent directly to the Yale-Readings
list may not be posted. <br><br>
For more information about Poetry at the Beinecke Library, visit:
<a href="https://beineckepoetry.wordpress.com" eudora="autourl">
https://beineckepoetry.wordpress.com</a> </body>
</html>