A Poets’ Panel | Guardians of Wonder: Writing What We Must Not Lose

A Poets’ Panel is the Garden’s kickoff event celebrating our year-long programming of Poetry in Nature. This event and others are generously sponsored by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and will span throughout the coming year. The natural world is constantly changing, calling individuals to protect and steward its resources, sustain the environment, and engage deeply with the more-than-human-world. Regionally and nationally known poets Lesley Wheeler, Kiki Petrosino, Paul Guest, Charlotte Matthews, and Hayden Saunier will share a poem, discuss their work, and offer how writing engages them with the natural world. Can poetry be a kind of activism? The evening will offer a provocative discussion of the risks and perhaps limits to our engagement and invite us to consider our role in protecting the world we inhabit. This event is free, but space is limited.

Register to reserve your spot. The first 125 participants will receive a copy of You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World edited and introduced by 24th Poet Laureate of the United States, Ada Limon. Panelists Paul Guest and Kiki Petrosino are contributing authors. Terra Voce will play selections of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons’ “Winter” along with other selections prior to the panel discussion. Their performance is supported by a generous grant from the Vesta Lee Gordon Foundation. The poets will be available for book signings, with copies of their work available for purchase in conjunction with New Dominion Bookstore.

For more information contact Director of Development, Laura McCall at l.mccall@piedmontgarden.org.