FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Cindy Deppe, media relations, 641-269-4834

April 10, 2008

ACCLAIMED POET AND GRINNELLIAN ED HIRSCH TO DELIVER PHI BETA KAPPA SCHOLARS’ CONVOCATION

GRINNELL, IA - Acclaimed poet Edward Hirsch, a 1972 Grinnell College graduate, will deliver the Phi Beta Kappa Scholars’ Convocation on Thurs., Apr. 24 at 11 a.m. in Herrick Chapel on the Grinnell College campus.

The author of seven books of poetry, Hirsch is president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation which provides fellowships to advanced professionals in the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and creative arts.

Hirsch’s most recent book, "Special Orders," was released last month by Random House, which said, "Hirsch brings us a new series of tightly crafted poems, work that demonstrates a thrilling expansion of his tone and subject matter. It is with a mixture of grief and joy that he examines ‘the minor triumphs, the major failures’ of his life so far, in lines that reveal a startling frankness, a fearlessness in confronting his own internal divisions."

Hirsch’s work, which includes two books of prose and several anthologies, has been recognized by the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Literature, a MacArthur Fellowship, the Prix de Rome, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Hirsch’s visit to Grinnell concludes a year-long centennial celebration for the Grinnell chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, a national honorary society. Grinnell was designated Beta of Iowa in 1907, the 70th chapter in the country. During his Iowa visit, Hirsch will also read "Live from Prairie Lights" on Iowa Public Radio on Apr. 23 at 7 p.m.

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