On the Brink: A Poetry Session

Image by Vic Goldsmith

Beyond the American Century: A New World Order? considers a possible end and a new beginning. Poetry has a great deal to say about ends and beginnings and what it means, both intellectually and emotionally, to be On the Brink. We look back and forward as the ten selected poems do, for example “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley and “Praise Song for the Day,” Elizabeth Alexander’s inaugural poem. At the event, presenters first read then respond to the poem. Together, the poems and commentary create a collage of ideas and emotions. There are opportunities for attendees to engage with the poems and the handout [will be] posted on the Camden Conference website and also available at the session.

Ellen Goldsmith initiated the Community Events Poetry Session to bring the insights of poetry to the Conference topic. Her first full-length poetry collection entitled Are We There Yet? (Kelsay Books) follows four earlier chapbooks. Her poems have been published in numerous journals and anthologies. Goldsmith holds an Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University and is professor emeritus of The City University of New York. She lives in Cushing Maine.