September 19, 2008                                              
                                   
AMHERST, Mass. — Author William Jay Smith will read from his work at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 8, in Pruyne Lecture Hall of Amherst College’s Fayerweather Hall. Sponsored by the Amherst College Creative Writing Center, the event is open to the public at no charge.

Smith is the author of more than 50 books of poetry, children’s verse, literary criticism, translation and memoirs. He has also edited numerous anthologies. Born in 1918 in Winnfield, La., he currently makes his homes in Cummington, Mass., and Paris. Richard Wilbur has called him “a most gifted poet … one of the very few who cannot be confused with anyone else,” and Elizabeth Frank, writing for The Atlantic Monthly, has said, “That Smith has written poems with rhythm, rhyme, wit and melody… is cause for celebration, homage and gratitude.”

Every year, the Amherst College Creative Writing Center sponsors a reading series featuring both emerging and established authors. All events are wheelchair accessible and followed by refreshments. For more information, please call 413/542-8200.

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