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A Poet in Buffalo

To celebrate Robert Creeley’s 80th birthday, the poet’s friends, family, colleagues, students and an array of special guests who have felt his influence will present a weekend’s worth of readings, music and multimedia, as well as displays of archival treasures, including rare books and Creeley’s collaborations with visual artists.

The Church

Saturday, May 20

Saturday’s events take place at the Church, at 341 Delaware Avenue, from 7pm to midnight. Live music will be performed by the Latin Jazz Project. An audio tribute mix made by Creeley’s son, Will—a.k.a. DJ Caps of of the Brooklyn-based turntable duo Caps & Jones—will also be featured.

Special guests include Amiri Baraka, Joanne Kyger and Tom Raworth, all of whom will deliver readings. Friends, colleagues and former students will also deliver readings and remembrances.

The Hallwalls Cinema will show Willy’s Reading, a 1982 interview with Creeley produced by Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian. Another interview with Creeley recorded by poet Ted Pelton in 2002, Robert Creeley: A Home Movie, will be shown as well. The interview was the basis for a profile Pelton wrote for Buffalo Spree.

The Hallwalls Gallery will host an exhibition curated by Michael Basinski and Elizabeth Licata, including images by Joe Brainard, Christo, Francesco Clemente, Fielding Dawson, Jim Dine, Robert Indiana, Alex Katz, R.B. Kitaj, René Laubiès, Dan Rice, Robert Therrien and more.

Saturday, 7pm to midnight. The Church (341 Delaware Avenue). $5.

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery

Sunday, May 21

On Sunday afternoon, Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian will present two more films about Creeley: 1988’s Creeley and 2001’s Robert Creeley: The Persistence of Verse. Also, composer David Felder will present the world premiere of So Quiet Here, an original electronic sound composition in four parts, inspired by and incorporating the words and voice of Robert Creeley (see page 21 to read more).

Sunday, 2pm. Albright-Knox

Art Gallery Auditorium. Free.