RIT ‘Artists of the Written Word’ To Be Inducted Into Poets Walk Nov. 13

‌

Concept image by Bayer Associates

This rendering shows one view of Poets Walk, scheduled to open in 2012, which will feature the engraved words of local poets placed throughout the length of the block.

Several members of the Rochester Institute of Technology community will be honored for their written words during an induction ceremony and poetry reading at the Poets Walk site, 2–5:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at Memorial Art Gallery auditorium, 500 University Ave., Rochester. A reception immediately follows in the gallery atrium.

Poets Walk, a sidewalk along University Avenue between North Goodman Street and Prince Street, will feature the engraved words of local poets placed in granite blocks and bands throughout the length of the block. An interactive component will allow visitors to use their cell phones to hear audio recordings of community voices performing poetry written by local poets or poets who are historically significant.

RIT inductees into Poets Walk include Dane Gordon, professor emeritus of philosophy; Anne Coon, professor emeritus of English; Sam Abrams, professor emeritus of English; Vincent F. A. Golphin, assistant professor of English; Steven Huff, adjunct instructor of English; Gary Lehmann, former adjunct instructor of English; Todd Beers, former adjunct instructor of English; Lori Nolasco, adjunct writing instructor in RIT’s Writing Center and English Language Center; Anthony Leuzzi, former adjunct instructor of English; and Jim Cohn, National Technical Institute for the Deaf alumnus. Several American Sign Language poets with connections to NTID will also be inducted, including Robert F. Panara, professor emeritus; Patrick Graybill, professor emeritus; Flying Words Project featuring Peter Cook, NTID alumnus, and Kenny Lerner, history tutor in the College of Liberal Arts/NTID Academic Support Center; and Eddie Swayze, NTID alumnus.

“As one of the judges for Poets Walk, I became increasingly gratified by the abundance of great poetry in our community, and its long history,” says John Roche, associate professor of English at RIT. “We are honoring more than 100 poets, spanning two centuries, and including a good number of RIT and NTID faculty and alumni.”

A selection panel researched and compiled a list of local and visiting poets and nominated passages were considered.

Poets Walk, a joint venture between the city of Rochester, the Memorial Art Gallery and Writers & Books, is part of the Artwalk Extension project.