Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet Coming To Simon’s Rock

Author and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gregory Pardlo will discuss his new book, “Air Traffic: A Memoir of Ambition and Manhood in America”, Thursday, August 30, at 7 P.M. in the Daniel Arts Center at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. The lecture is free and open to the public.

A press release from the College describes Pardlo’s long-awaited memoir in essays as “a blistering meditation on fatherhood, class, education, race, addiction, and ambition.” Vogue named it one of the 10 Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2018 calling it “a masterwork, blending personal and family history with a historicized critique on blackness and masculinity…to tell a story about himself that is also about America, one that feels true.”

“Air Traffic” is the 2018 Book One selection at Simon’s Rock. The Book One program asks first-year students to read a selection by a contemporary living author over the summer and come ready to discuss the book. Authors visit campus to share insights into their inspiration and creative process with students and the community, and to hear students’ perspectives on their work.

Pardlo’s visit will coincide with the beginning of the fall Guest Writers Series at Simon’s Rock. Students taking Peter Filkins’ Guest Writers class will be asked to read Pardlo’s collection of poems, Digest, and will be able to discuss this work with him. Digest won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.