Pulitzer Prize-winning poet to read from his work

Poet Donald Justice, winner of the Pulitzer and Bollingen prizes, will read from his works at 8 p.m. Monday, May 20, in Chase Hall Lounge. The public is invited to attend at no charge.

Justice, a professor of English at the University of Florida, won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize in poetry for his collection, Selected Poems. He later won the prestigious Bollingen Prize for lifetime achievement. In addition to his poetry, Justice has written essays, fiction and a libretto, and has edited four poetry collections.

“His brilliance is never at the service merely of flash and display,” wrote critic Anthony Hecht. “It is always subservient to experienced truth, to accuracy, to justice, the ancient virtue as well as the personal signature. He is one of our finest poets.”

Justice currently is a visiting professor at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His visit to Bates is sponsored by the college’s English department.