Acclaimed writer Marge Piercy to read August 15 in Amy Clampitt Poetry Series at Berkshire Museum
May 28, 2008
Great Barrington, MA —Marge Piercy, best-selling poet, novelist and essayist, will read from her poetry at the Berkshire Museum in downtown Pittsfield on Friday, August 15, from 5-6:30 p.m. as part of the Amy Clampitt Poetry Series. The series is sponsored by the Amy Clampitt Fund, a fund of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
Tickets will go on sale in July. Admission is $10 for adults ($5 for members) and $5 for students. For tickets, call 413-443-7171, extension 10.
Piercy is one of the few American writers who are accomplished poets as well as novelists. She is also the master of many genres: historical novels, science fiction, novels of social comment and contemporary entertainments. She has written 17 novels, including the New York Times bestseller Gone to Soldiers, Braided Lives, The Longings of Women and the classic Woman on the Edge of Time; 17 volumes of poetry and a critically acclaimed memoir Sleeping with Cats.
Piercy has been a key player in many of the major progressive political battles of our time, including the anti-Vietnam war and the women's movement, and most recently an active participant in the resistance to the war in Iraq. A popular speaker on college campuses, Piercy has been a featured writer on Bill Moyers’ PBS specials, Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion,” NPR’s “Fresh Air,” the Today Show, and many radio programs nationwide. She has taught, lectured and performed her work at over 400 universities around the world.
The Amy Clampitt Poetry Series, which is in its fifth year, is named in honor of the poet Amy Clampitt, a resident of New York City and Lenox, Mass. cottage until her death in 1994. Poets who have previously participated in the series are Rita Dove, Philip Levine, Paul Muldoon and Robert Pinsky.
Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation builds stronger communities and improves the quality of life for all residents in the region it serves: Berkshire County, MA; Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY; and northwest Litchfield County, CT. Founded in 1987, Berkshire Taconic currently has over 500 funds and manages more than $86 million in assets. Each year, it distributes more than $7 million through grants and scholarships, helping thousands of donors achieve their philanthropic goal and hundreds of nonprofits carry on their good work.
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