Wave Poetry Bus Making Stop as Part of UA’s Bankhead Visiting Writers Series

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Wave Books Poetry Bus Tour will make a stop in Tuscaloosa as part of The University of Alabama’s Bankhead Visiting Writers Series. Several poets will give a reading Monday, Oct. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Bama Theatre.

Stopping at 50 cities in 50 days, the 2006 Poetry Bus Tour is sponsored by Seattle-based independent press Wave Books. Throughout September and October, more than 100 poets, along with musicians, filmmakers and journalists, will participate as the bus travels North America, bringing innovative poetry to big cities and small towns across the United States and Canada. The poets on the tour represent a new energy in contemporary poetry – playful, hip, intelligent writers who are seeking readers outside the classroom. Sponsoring press Wave Books was founded in 2005 with a commitment to bringing poetry to new audiences and expanding the popular idea of what poetry means and where poetry belongs.

Featured poets include Joshua Beckman, Matthew Zapruder, David Roderick, Bob Hicok, Valzhyna Mort, Carrie St George Comer, Mark McMorris, Lee Ann Brown and Ken Rumble.

The reading is free and open to the public. A reception will follow.

The Bankhead Visiting Writers Series is made possible by an endowment from the Bankhead Foundation, The University of Alabama’s Program in Creative Writing, the department of English and the College of Arts and Sciences. For more information, contact UA’s creative writing program at 205/348-0766 or visit www.bama.ua.edu/~writing.

The College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest public liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the “USA Today” Academic All American Team.