Norris reads poetry, speaks about books
Bestselling author provides insight into writing poetry, essays and books
Charlotte Holman
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: News
Southwest Baptist University students, faculty, staff and members of the Bolivar and Springfield community gathered in Davis-Newport Theatre Monday, April 14 to soak up the poetry and prose of best-selling author Kathleen Norris.
As a part of this semester's Barnett-Padgett Literary Artists Series, Norris visited SBU to speak about her life as an author and poet and read some of her work, which include best-selling novels Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, The Cloister Walk, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith and The Virgin of Bennington. Norris was also available after the main event to autograph copies of her books and answer questions.
Throughout the presentation, Norris read her own poetry and prose as well as poetry of other poets who have inspired her and poetry written by her late husband, poet David Dwyer.
She also spoke about her life as a writer saying she was honored to do so.
Norris attributed her abilities to her love of reading, telling of how she would read anything she could get her hands on as a child and later becoming a subscriber to "The New Yorker" in high school.
"Reading helps me endure life," said Norris. "I can't imagine flying without a good book."
Norris called poetry her first love, being encouraged to write poetry as a freshman in college and publishing two books of poetry before her big break with Dakota.
The 1960s, the time period Norris began to write, was a time of self-destructing writers, and Norris said that the poet James Wright helped show her that poetry did not have to be about dark abstraction, but that anything could be a revelation worthy of a poem.
Norris then read her poem "Body and Blood," which was inspired by Wright.
Norris spoke of other writers who have inspired her including Mary Oliver, Mary Rose O'Reilly, Marilyn Robinson and Ian McEwan.
Falling Off, Norris' first book of poetry, was published in 1971 after she won a poetry contest. Norris believes that the poetry of this first book reflected the time period and the tense urban environment of her home at the time, New York City.
As a part of this semester's Barnett-Padgett Literary Artists Series, Norris visited SBU to speak about her life as an author and poet and read some of her work, which include best-selling novels Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, The Cloister Walk, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith and The Virgin of Bennington. Norris was also available after the main event to autograph copies of her books and answer questions.
Throughout the presentation, Norris read her own poetry and prose as well as poetry of other poets who have inspired her and poetry written by her late husband, poet David Dwyer.
She also spoke about her life as a writer saying she was honored to do so.
Norris attributed her abilities to her love of reading, telling of how she would read anything she could get her hands on as a child and later becoming a subscriber to "The New Yorker" in high school.
"Reading helps me endure life," said Norris. "I can't imagine flying without a good book."
Norris called poetry her first love, being encouraged to write poetry as a freshman in college and publishing two books of poetry before her big break with Dakota.
The 1960s, the time period Norris began to write, was a time of self-destructing writers, and Norris said that the poet James Wright helped show her that poetry did not have to be about dark abstraction, but that anything could be a revelation worthy of a poem.
Norris then read her poem "Body and Blood," which was inspired by Wright.
Norris spoke of other writers who have inspired her including Mary Oliver, Mary Rose O'Reilly, Marilyn Robinson and Ian McEwan.
Falling Off, Norris' first book of poetry, was published in 1971 after she won a poetry contest. Norris believes that the poetry of this first book reflected the time period and the tense urban environment of her home at the time, New York City.
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