Poet Linda Pastan Reads Her Work at MBL Falmouth Forum, December 7

Poet Linda Pastan, a finalist for the National Book Award, will kick off the 2012-2013 season of the MBL Falmouth Forum with a reading of her work. The event will be held on Friday, December 7th at 7:30 PM in the MBL’s Lillie Auditorium 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole. Sponsored by the MBL Associates, it is free and open to the public.

Pastan’s books will be available for sale and signing after her reading. Linda Pastan was raised in New York City but has lived for most of her life in Potomac, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC. In her senior year at Radcliffe College, Pastan won the Mademoiselle poetry prize (Sylvia Plath was the runner-up). Immediately following graduation, however, she decided to give up writing poetry in order to concentrate on raising her family. After ten years at home, her husband urged her to return to poetry. Since the early 1970s, Pastan has produced quiet lyrics that focus on themes like marriage, parenting, and grief. She is interested in the anxieties that exist under the surface of everyday life.

Pastan's many awards include the Dylan Thomas award, a Pushcart Prize, the Bess Hokin Prize from Poetry, the Poetry Society of America's Alice Fay di Castagnola Award, and the Ruth Lily Poetry Prize. Pastan served as Poet Laureate of Maryland from 1991 to 1995 and was on the staff of the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference for 20 years. She is the author of more than 12 books of poetry and essays. Her PM/AM: New and Selected Poems (1982) and Carnival Evening: New and Selected Poems 1968–1998 (1998) were finalists for the National Book Award; The Imperfect Paradise (1988) was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her recent collections include The Last Uncle (2001), Queen of a Rainy Country (2006) and most recently Traveling Light (2011).

An optional buffet dinner precedes will precede the lecture at 6:00 pm at the MBL’s Swope Center, 5 North Street, Woods Hole. Tickets are $30 and must be purchased in advance at the MBL Communications Office, 127 Water Street, Woods Hole, or at Eight Cousins Children’s Books, Main Street, Falmouth. Dinner tickets are available until they sell out or until 5:00 pm on the Tuesday, December 4. For more information, contact the MBL Communications Office at (508) 289-7423 or comm@mbl.edu.

The remaining Falmouth Forums of the 2012-2013 season are listed below. All presentations will be held in the MBL’s Lillie Auditorium at 7:30 PM. Free admission. Visit http://www.mbl.edu/falmouth-forum/ for details and updated information.

February 1, 2013  
Two Sides of Love, a performance by New York Polyphony, male a capella vocal ensemble

March 1, 2013      
Frederick Law Olmsted: The Accidental Renaissance Man, Justin Martin, best-selling biographer

April 5, 2013
Inside the Head of a Novelist, Julia Glass, winner of the National Book Award for Fiction.
Julia Glass’s presentation is being supported by the MBL’s Herman T. Epstein Endowed Memorial Lectureship.

April 26, 2013
Epic Journeys: A Documentary on Shorebird Migration, Shawn Carey, wildlife photographer and co-founder of Migration Productions. Co-sponsored by The 300 Committee, Falmouth.

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The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery and improving the human condition through research and education in biology, biomedicine, and environmental science. Founded in 1888 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, the MBL is an independent, nonprofit corporation.

The MBL Associates are a group of individuals and businesses that support the scientific mission of the MBL through their gifts to the Annual Fund. The Associates sponsor educational and research programs for the MBL and raise funds for special projects. In addition, they operate the MBL Gift Shop, located on Water Street in Woods Hole, the profits from which support scientific fellowships.