Illinois poet laureate to present reading Saturday at Vachel Lindsay Home

Part of National Poetry Month observance

[April 18, 2012]  SPRINGFIELD -- The Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site in Springfield will host Kevin Stein, Illinois poet laureate, for a special poetry reading on Saturday at 2 p.m. as part of the site's observance of National Poetry Month.

Stein's special presentation, which is part of the Lindsay Home's "Poets in the Parlor" series, is titled "Poetry's Afterlife."

Stein has published 10 books of poetry and criticism, including the recent essay book "Poetry's Afterlife: Verse in the Digital Age." Among his poetry collections are "Sufficiency of the Actual" and "American Ghost Roses," winner of the Society of Midland Authors Poetry Award. His poems and essays have appeared in journals such as American Poetry Review, Boulevard, Colorado Review, The Gettysburg Review, The Kenyon Review, Poetry and TriQuarterly. Stein's work has earned the Frederick Bock Prize from Poetry, the Indiana Review Poetry Prize, the Devins Award, an NEA fellowship and other distinctions. Stein has been the Illinois poet laureate since 2003.

Limited seating is available. Refreshments and tours of the Lindsay Home will follow the Saturday afternoon program.

The Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site is the birthplace and longtime residence of poet, author and artist Nicholas Vachel Lindsay, 1879-1931. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for free public tours.

[Text from file received from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]