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As part of Lafayette College's celebration of National Poetry Month, acclaimed Welsh physician-poet Dannie Abse will hold a reading at 4:10 p.m., Tuesday, April 20, in the auditorium of Kirby Hall of Civil Rights. The reading is free and open to the public.
Best known for his poetry, Abse is also a playwright, essayist, and novelist whose characteristically Welsh voice and sensibility has garnered critical acclaim. Abse, a native of Cardiff, Wales, simultaneously pursued dual careers as a physician and freelance writer for most of his life.
Abse began his literary career in 1948 with his first book of verse, After Every Green Thing. He was editor of the literary magazine Poetry and Poverty from 1949-54. Several volumes of verse followed, including Walking Under Water (1952) and Tenants of the House (1957), each further honing his unique poetic voice.
In the sixties and seventies, Abse's poetry meshed his experiences as doctor and poet, striking a more personal chord. Works from that era include Poems, Golders Green (1962), A Small Desperation (1968), and Funland (1973).
More recent collections have been critically hailed for their explorations of self. They include Way Out in the Centre (1981), White Coat, Purple Coat: Collected Poems, 1948-1988 (1989), and Remembrance of Crimes Past (1990).
Abse is also the author of several novels, including the acclaimed Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve (1954), numerous plays, essays, and an autobiography, A Poet in the Family (1974).
Lafayette's celebration of National Poetry Month is sponsored by the department of English and the American Studies program. For more information, call Lee Upton, associate professor of English and writer-in-residence, 610-330-5250.