Robert Creeley Lecture

Good afternoon, and welcome to the first annual Robert Creeley Lecture and Celebration of Poetry!!

I am delighted to join all of you for this inaugural event in honor of one of the great luminaries in UB’s distinguished literary history—the late poet Robert Creeley.

I’d like to especially welcome Robert Creeley’s wife, Penelope, here with us today.

I would also like to welcome our distinguished guest,  the acclaimed poet and scholar Nathaniel Mackey: The Reynolds Price Professor of Creative Writing at Duke University and a Chancellor of the American Academy of Poets.

One of the most important and influential American poets of the 20^th century, Robert Creeley’s legacy has had a profound impact on our English Department, on our broader university community, and upon a generation of poets and scholars. Professor Creeley was part of the great generation of writers and scholars at UB who first elevated our English Department into a national hub of creative and critical innovation.

As a poet-scholar who was renowned for his broad-ranging collaborations with artists outside of his own field, Professor Creeley was on the vanguard of UB’s long tradition of interdisciplinary scholarship. The founder of the university's nationally recognized Poetics Program and its Wednesdays at 4 PLUS literary series, Professor Creeley helped bring hundreds of the world's most distinguished poets and prose writers to our campus.

Professor Creeley was also deeply engaged in the community, supporting poets of all ages and styles. Professor Creeley’s impact and connection to the Western New York literary community run deep, including:

• His role as part of the inspiration for the founding of the Just Buffalo Literary Center;
• and his involvement with organizations like the CEPA Gallery and Hallwalls,

As a scholar and poet, Professor Creeley was honored with many of the major distinctions in his field, including:

• the Bollingen Prize,
• the Lannan Lifetime Achievement Award,
• the Frost Medal,
• the Shelley Memorial Award,
• a Rockefeller Foundation grant,
• several Fulbright Awards, and
• fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation.

Active in his professional service, Creeley was:

• a member of the board of chancellors of the American Academy of Poets;
• a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and
• He was named New York State Poet Laureate for 1989 to 1991.

And I understand that my distinguished predecessor, UB’s 13^th President William Greiner, designated him as UB’s poet laureate as well—a fitting tribute to his enduring legacy to UB. In short, he is a towering figure in our university’s distinguished literary history, as well as a pioneer in American arts and letters.

Yet for all his stature, impact, and importance, his most enduring legacy may have been to the generation of artists, poets, and scholars he inspired and encouraged through his generosity and his example.

The lecture series we launch today, and our inaugural distinguished speaker, are a great and fitting testament to that legacy.

Thank you all for coming today for this special lecture celebrating poetry in honor of one of UB’s most extraordinary scholars.