Please join us at 8 PM this Thursday, October 16th, at the John Natsoulas Gallery (521 First Street, Davis) for Poetry Night featuring the renowned poet James Ragan.
James Ragan
James Ragan is an internationally recognized poet, playwright, and essayist. Translated into 12 languages, he has authored eight books of poetry including The Hunger Wall and The World Shouldering I. He has read for six heads of state and in 1985, was one of four poets including Seamus Heaney, Bob Dylan and Robert Bly, invited to perform at the First International Poetry Festival in Moscow. Honors include three Fulbright Professorships, two Honorary Doctorates, the Emerson Poetry Prize, eight Pushcart Prize nominations, a Poetry Society of America Citation, and the Swan Foundation Humanitarian Award. Ragan’s plays have been staged in the U.S, Russia, Greece, and China. He has worked on staff during the making of The Godfather and in production on The Deer Hunter, The Border and recently, The House. He is the subject of a documentary, Flowers and Roots, based on his life in the arts (Arina Films, 2014). For 25 years, James Ragan directed the Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California.
Ragan is widely acclaimed. The great Russian poet called Ragan “A testament to universal brotherhood, a celebration. He is my brother.” William Matthews said that “James Ragan’s poetry lights the passage to the larger world of global citizenship.” The populist historian Studs Terkel found that “In Jim Ragan’s poetry, there is a lyrical fusing of innocence and wisdom. It is this juxtaposition that makes his work so exhilarating.” Michael Harper agrees, stating that “James Ragan’s poetry is splendidly candid, original, energized, connected to the real world, honed, humane, connected to a series of finely articulated voices, full of nuances, of music, of idioms he’s heard and invented.”
Because James Ragan will be traveling from a LitQuake event in San Francisco, this week the open mic will begin at 8 PM, and the featured performer will take the Natsoulas stage at 9 PM. The after-party at de Vere’s Irish Pub will start at 10 PM. You are encouraged to arrive early to secure a seat and to sign up for a spot on the Open Mic List.
The Poetry Night Reading Series—coordinated and hosted by Dr. Andy Jones, the Poet Laureate of the City of Davis—takes place at the John Natsoulas Gallery on the first and third Thursday of every month. Poetry Night at the John Natsoulas Gallery is an entirely volunteer-run affair.
What: The Poetry Night Reading Series featuring James Ragan
When: Thursday, October 16th for the Open Mic at 8 PM – James Ragan at 9 PM.
Where: The John Natsoulas Gallery (521 First Street, Davis)
The John Natsoulas Gallery – (530) 756-3938
