Kaveh Akbar's poems appear in The New Yorker, Paris Review, The New York Times, Best American Poetry, and elsewhere. He is the author of two books of poetry—Pilgrim Bell (Graywolf 2021) and Calling a Wolf a Wolf (Alice James 2017)—and the editor of The Penguin Book of Spiritual Verse. Born in Tehran, Iran, Kaveh teaches at Purdue University and in the low-residency MFA programs at Randolph and Warren Wilson college. He serves as Poetry Editor for The Nation.
Free and Open to the Public. These events will be held via Zoom and prior registration is required.
Creative Writing Workshop: Wednesday, April 13 at 3 p.m.
No prior writing experience required—just come with an open mind and willingness to learn!
Register in advance for the Zoom workshop
Reading: Wednesday, April 13 at 7 p.m.
Kaveh will read from his poetry collection and take audience questions.
Register in advance for the Zoom meeting
For more information, please call Esley Stahl at (847) 543-2949 or email estahl@clcillinois.edu
Reviews of Pilgrim Bell
“Pilgrim Bell is bracing in its honesty and noteworthy in its steadfast adherence to finding the spiritual in even the most mundane settings. Akbar’s mesmerizing dexterity with language is at its most compelling when he is relentlessly pursuing the truth―a hunt that’s present in every poem in this volume.”
—TIME
“Akbar is exquisitely sensitive to how language can function as both presence and absence. . . . His practice of taking language apart, and harnessing the empty space around it, makes even the most familiar words seem eerie and unexpected.”
—The New Yorker