Autumn Poetry with Judson Scruton - Nothing Stays Put: The Life and Poetry of Amy Clampitt (Zoom)

About this event

Please join us as Judson Scruton - live from North Carolina! - leads lively discussions exploring the life and poetry of Amy Clampitt employing her recent (2023) biography Nothing Stays Put. Amy Clampitt (1920-1994). Her poetry is a challenging delight. Her exotic vocabulary is festooned with the arcane, but is carried by a driving Baroque energy and stunning metaphors. Her critic/champion Helen Vendler helped to establish Clampitt’s reputation after her first volume of poetry (The Kingfisher) was published when she was 63. In Vendler’s words, Clampitt derives her images from an “alluring variety of origins—nature (Iowa to Greece), religion (from Athena to Christ), science (from geology to etymology), art (from manuscript illumination to Beethoven), and literature (from Homer to Hopkins).” As the poet Heather Tressler has written “Clampitt handsomely rewards the reader and places her in the firmament of writers who knew the language intimately, etymologically. Her skills combine the sprezzatura of the concert pianist and the elite piano tuner who knows —by ear, eye, and touch— the anatomy of each hammer and key.” Come join us in a lively, informal exploration/discussion of Clampitt’s amazing meditations. A seminar outline and schedule will be sent out in advance of the series; please enter your email address during registration to receive the syllabus and Zoom link. Many of the poems we'll look at are accessible at https://www.amyclampitt.com/ The library has also ordered a copy of the biography and her collected poems; please try to share them. Advance registration is required. Register online or call 203-762-6334. There is no charge for this program. This lecture series is made possible with the support of the Literary Series in Memory of Amy Quigley. By registering for the first session you will automatically be registered for all four sessions. Please email Andrea Sato with any questions at asato@wiltonlibrary.org. Judson Scruton M.A. (The Johns Hopkins University, The Writing Seminars, specializing in poetry) has taught creative writing and literature at prep schools and universities. In his career as an educator Judson has also directed publications, communications, public relations, and development at a variety of educational institutions in the U.S. and U.K. including the Newberry Library in Chicago.