Dr. Wood thinks that poetry has been misdirected. We now -- mistakenly, he says – think that poetry must consist only of deeply serious, contemplative, personal meditations. But he says that humor has a definite place in poetry, and that we need narratives that tell stories and engage the reader in more than just the life of the poet. He explored these thoughts in a lecture at Harvard’s Barker Center for the Humanities, and he’s coming back to Lake Charles to continue the discussion. He will give us his thoughts on poetry and history, illustrated by slides of 20th century sculpture and painting and 19th century photographs, and accompanied by readings from his own work, including poems from a new book inspired by 19th century photographic portraits.

Dr. Wood is a prize-winning poet and art historian, as well as founder and 25-year director of McNeese’s MFA Program in Creative Writing.