AMERICUS — California poet Lesley Dauer, winner of the Adrienne Bond Award for Poetry from Mercer University Press for her most recent collection of poetry, Carnival Life (2016), will be in Americus April 3-6 for a series of town-and-gown collaborative events, including a poetry workshop and public talks and readings at Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) and the Lake Blackshear Regional Library.
Each poem in Carnival Life, her award-winning collection, represents the life of a carnival performer or that of an outsider whose life is rich with carnival metaphor. Through deft, incisive portraits, Dauer populates these pages with people and animals in whom we recognize our own strengths, quirks, and bewilderment. The poet’s stark clarity of imagery and minimalist style belie depths of emotional complexity.
According to poet and critic David Huddle, “Lesley Dauer’s poems are simultaneously brilliant and humble … No living poet I know is this good.”
At 11 a.m. April 3, Dauer will conduct a poetry workshop at GSW to critique and comment on several submitted poems from area poets. This free event is open to the public and will benefit anyone interested in the process of writing, revising, and submitting original poetry for publication. At 11 a.m. April 5, 2017, Dauer will speak at GSW’s Convocation in Jackson Hall, where she will read from her poetry and answer questions.
At 7:30 p.m. April 6, Lake Blackshear Regional Library will host a poetry reading by Dauer, followed by a book-signing and reception, where copies of Carnival Life will be available for purchase. This event is also free and open to the public.
Dauer received degrees from Middlebury, The University of Massachussetts Amhurst, and Harvard. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals, including Boulevard, Grand Street, and Poetry, and anthologies, including American Poetry: The Next Generation (CMUP). Her first book of poetry, The Fragile City, won the Bluestem Award. She teaches English and creative writing at Foothill College in California.
Dauer’s visit is sponsored by Georgia Southwestern State University, The Sumter County Friends of the Public Library, and the Woman’s Literary Club.  For more information, call  GSW’s Department of English and Foreign Languages at 229-931-2183 or Lake Blackshear Regional Library at 229-924-8091.