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March 30, 2009 Contact: Irish poet Vona Groarke to give reading at the Rialto
ATLANTA —Vona Groarke’s poetry is populated by hurricane-bent pines, mouthfuls of moonlight and hyacinths past their prime, images that evoke the relationships and memories contained within. “Her work is very welcoming,” said Megan Sexton, managing editor of Georgia State University’s Five Points literary magazine. “People who may not typically read poetry will be surprised by the way in which she invites you into her poems.” Groarke will extend her welcome to Atlanta audiences with a reading at GSU’s Rialto Center for the Arts on April 1. Her visit is sponsored by a grant from Georgia State’s Center for Collaborative and International Arts (CENCIA), which brings together artists from various disciplines to build partnerships in arts-related scholarship at the university. “It’s very exciting that we have an opportunity to encounter international artists and writers. To interact with someone who is participating in the arts on an international level expands our notion of what’s possible in language,” Sexton said. “A live performance brings that whole culture to us physically.” Groarke was born in the Irish midlands and currently teaches at the University of Manchester in England. She is also poet-in-residence at Wake Forest University in North Carolina on alternate spring semesters. Her awards include the Hennessy Award, the Brendan Behar Memorial Prize, the Strokestown International Poetry Award and the Stand Magazine Poetry Prize, and she was runner-up in the 2003 Times Literary Supplement Poetry Competition. Groarke’s work has also captured the attention of another well-known Irish poet. “I actually was introduced to her work by Seamus Heaney, so he’s a fan of hers,” Sexton said. “That’s high praise.” What: Poetry reading by Vona Groarke When: Reception at 7 p.m., reading at 8 p.m. April 1 Where: Rialto Center for the Arts, 80 Forsyth St. N.W., Atlanta Information: Call 404-413-9800
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