Graduate students to read original poems during “The Art of Poetry” on Nov. 29

November 8, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Students in a University of Florida English graduate workshop plan to read some of their own poems that were inspired by the Harn Museum of Art’s collections of African, Asian, modern and contemporary art and photography.

The event, called “The Art of Poetry,” is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Nov. 29 during Museum Nights. Student Government sponsors Museum Nights as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of the arts and natural sciences.

The graduate poetry workshop is taught by Professor Debora Greger as part of the UF creative writing master’s program. The students have been meeting at the Harn Museum of Art this semester. Greger has taught several courses in conjunction with the Harn Museum’s collections and exhibitions, but this is the first master’s level poetry course taught at the Harn.

“I have a BA in art and an MFA in creative writing,” Greger said, “so for me it is as natural as breathing.”

In spring 2007, Greger taught an undergraduate writing course at the Harn titled “The Art of the Journal” that also had a public reading during Museum Nights.

“An important aspect of the Harn’s mission is to utilize the power of the arts to educate and enrich people’s lives,” Harn Director of Education Bonnie Bernau said. “This class clearly demonstrates how one inspired professor, using an interdisciplinary approach to the visual arts and the literary arts combined, has achieved that goal.”

For more information on the Harn Museum of Art visit www.harn.ufl.edu or call 352-392-9826.