The Writers at Rutgers Series is proud to present a reading by Alicia Ostriker, Monday October 13 at 8 pm, in the Rutgers College Student Center’s Multipurpose Room. Ostriker has published ten books of poems, has twice been a finalist for the National Book Award, and has won the Paterson Prize and the San Francisco State Poetry Center Award. As both a poet and a literary critic, Ostriker makes use of the power of language to discover personal truths: “I try to write things that will make people laugh and cry,” she says. “I try to write poems that will give people access to their own souls, their hidden and secret selves.”

Ostriker will be reading from her most recently published book of poems, “The Volcano Sequence,” a powerful exploration of the human relationship to the divine, examined through the lens of Ostriker’s considerable knowledge of the Old Testament, Jewish tradition, and feminist theory. These poems have been praised for their bold and honest approach to major spirituality questions, contributing to Ostriker’s reputation as the premier contemporary poet working in the visionary mode of Blake and Ginsberg.

Ostriker will also share poems from her new manuscript “No Heaven.” The title was inspired by the lyrics from John Lennon’s song, “Imagine.” Ostriker is known as a compelling and memorable reader of her own poems, and her reading at Rutgers, where she teaches English and Creative Writing, will be a special opportunity for members of the university community to hear new work from an important poet.

Writers at Rutgers has arranged a book sale and signing following the reading. The event is open to the entire Rutgers community, and admission is free. Please call 732-932-7213 for more information.

The Volcano Sequence

From TheVolcano Sequence, "psalm"

Interview

Five Questions for Alicia Suskin Ostriker

(Interview by Yana Zeltser)

Q1. What has influenced your writing in the last few years - what concerns, themes, current events?

A1. For the past few years, my work has been increasingly obsessed by the intersections of religion and politics. Like William Blake, who is a great hero of mine, and Allen Ginsberg, who is another, I’m horrified by people who think God is on their side, and make religion an excuse for violence and oppression.

Q2. What are you planning to read at the Writers at Rutgers reading on October 13, 2003?

A2. I’ll be reading partly from my most recent book of poems, “The Volcano Sequence,” a book that records my own spiritual quest as a Jewish woman, and partly from a new manuscript of poems called "No Heaven." The title is from John Lennon's song "Imagine": "Imagine there's no heaven," and, "Imagine all the people / Living life in peace."

Q3. What kind of an audience do you hope your writing can reach?

A3. I look for an audience of men and women. I try to write things that will make people laugh and cry. I try to write poems that will give people access to their own souls, their hidden and secret selves.

People all have interior lives they are forbidden to talk about and there is a thirst for poetry that can express that depth we share. Muriel Rukeyser has a poem called "Islands" that says "For Gods sake/ they are connected / underneath." She is talking about all of us. We are all connected, underneath, and poetry exists to express that connection.

Q4. Who are some of your favorite contemporary poets?

A4. Authors whose books I buy as soon as they're out include Adrienne Rich, Sharon Olds, Lucille Clifton, Robert Hass, and Gerry Stern - for starters. In all these poets, different as they are from one another, I admire the vividness and vitality. All of them are engaged in a search for meaning; the poem is a quest, the poets are exploring experiential reality, seeking a meaning that's both external and internal.

Q5. What inspires you?

A5. Beauty - natural beauty, artistic beauty, literature, painting, sculpture. The hope of progress toward peace and justice on earth. Love, sex, family. And poetry, of course.

Biography

Alicia Suskin Ostriker has twice been a finalist for the National Book Award and is the recipient of the Poetry Society of America William Carlos Williams Award, the Paterson Poetry Award and the Poetry Prize of the San Francisco State Poetry Center. Her ten volumes of poetry include The Volcano Sequence, The Crack in Everything, The Imaginary Lover and The Little Space: Poems Selected and New 1968-1998. As a critic Ostriker is the author of four books of essays, including the pathbreaking Stealing the Language: The Emergence of Women’s Poetry in America. Her work appears in major periodicals, including The New Yorker, American Poetry Review and The Nation. She teaches English and Creative Writing at Rutgers University.