Folger Poetry Board Reading: Kay Ryan (2019)

The O.B. Hardison Poetry Series presented Folger Poetry Board Reading: Kay Ryan on May 07, 2019 at 7:30pm in the Folger's Elizabethan Theatre. “Witty, rebellious, and yet tender, [her poetry is] a treasure trove of an iconoclastic and joyful mind.” —Pulitzer Prize citation

In this annual reading, distinguished poet Kay Ryan shares favorite poems by other poets and reads from her own work.

Kay Ryan

[[|150px|right|thumb|Kay Ryan.]] Kay Ryan is known for compact gems of poetry and a swift and cogent style. Ryan won the Pulitzer Prize for The Best of It: New and Selected Poems. Her other books are Flamingo Watching, The Niagara River, and Say Uncle, among others. A former US Poet Laureate, she is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Union League Poetry Prize, the Maurice English Poetry Award, and the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. She currently serves as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.

Ryan has read for the O.B. Hardison Poetry series twice previously, on December 3, 2012 and January 22, 2008.

Reviews and excerpts

"Token Loss"

To the dragon

any loss is

total. His rest

is disrupted

if a single

jewel encrusted

goblet has

been stolen.

The circle

of himself

in the nest

of his gold

has been

broken. No

loss is token.