@internationalpoetryforum: “Views” part two by Mona Van Duyn, as performed at the International Poetry Forum, 1992. Recipient of the National Book Award (1971 for TO SEE, TO TAKE) and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1991 for NEAR CHANGES), Mona Van Duyn served as Chancellor of the American Academy of Poets as well as United States Poet Laureate, making her the recipient of nearly every major accolade in the world of American letters. Van Duyn performed at the International Poetry Forum on two occasions: first in 1972, with William Stafford (former Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress), and again 1992. During her second performance, she reflected on the importance of International Poetry Forum founder Sam Hazo’s efforts in Pittsburgh, which brought poets like Octavio Paz, Seamus Heaney, Derek Walcott, Elizabeth Bishop, Gwendolyn Brooks, W.H. Auden, and several hundred others from around the world to the city: “I am very proud to be back in Pittsburgh for this occasion, because Pittsburgh is known all over the country as a city that really believes in poetry.” During her valedictory address as U.S. Poet Laureate in 1993, Van Duyn lamented the fact that the United States had no tradition of reviewing poetry readings in newspapers. She noted the sole exception of Pittsburgh, “where a reading is reviewed the next morning by TWO newspapers.” #internationalpoetryforum #monavanduyn #uspoetlaureate #pulitzerprizeforpoetry #nationalbookawardforpoetry #poetry #literaryhistory #literature #poetrycommunity #flying #englishpoetry #classicpoetry #poetrytok #poetrygram #poetsofinstagram #spokenword #poetryreading #pittsburgh #pittsburghhistory #pittsburghpoetry [From, “History of the International Poetry Forum” (International Poetry Forum, 2017, with credit and permission for archival video and audio to the International Poetry Forum Collection at Carlow University in Pittsburgh). All works © authors; all rights reserved.]

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