“In Praise of the Earth: The Poetry of Wally Swist” Benefit Screening by UMass Filmmaker Elizabeth Wilda on April 26

April 22, 2009

Contact:

Elizabeth Wilda 413/545-2501

AMHERST, Mass. – There will be a benefit screening of the short film “In Praise of the Earth: The Poetry of Wally Swist” by Elizabeth Wilda, a filmmaker at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, on Sunday, April 26 at 6 p.m. at the Pleasant Street Theater in Northampton. Admission is an $8 donation to benefit Clara Gardner, a Northampton High School student who was severely injured when struck by a drunk driver in August 2008. The poet and the filmmaker will be on hand for questions after the screening.

Swist’s poems have appeared widely in anthologies, journals and periodicals, including Rolling Stone and Yankee Magazine’s 60th Anniversary Issue. Timberline Press published his most recent book of poetry, “Mount Toby Poems,” in a limited letterpress edition in 2009. He was also chosen as one of six poets from New England and New York to read their work in the 40th Anniversary Northeast Modern Language Association Convention in Boston in February 2009.

Framing Swist’s work through the matrix of natural images, filmmaker Wilda leads viewers through the snowy woods of Amherst, centering much of her inquiry on the artist retreat called Fort Juniper. Built in 1939 by poet Robert Francis, Swist’s late friend, mentor and contemporary of Robert Frost, the cabin home has been a rotating artist’s residence since 1987.

Wilda has been producing award-winning short educational films at UMass Amherst since 1999. She currently works for UMass News and Media Relations.

This event was made possible through the support of state Sen. Stanley Rosenberg.

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