PORTLAND — U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky will give a lecture on Monday, March 7, courtesy of the Portland Museum of Art.

His talk, “Is Vision The Twin of Speech?,” is inspired by the “Weston: Leaves of Grass” exhibit on view at the museum through March 13. The exhibit showcases 53 black-and-white photographs taken by Weston to illustrate Whitman’s epic poem, “Leaves of Grass.”

Pinsky will share his love of poetry, Walt Whitman and his belief in the potential for poetry to be part of everyday life.

As three-term U.S. Poet Laureate, Pinsky is a public ambassador for poetry. Founding the Favorite Poem Project, he sought to document poetry’s place in the world. Elegant and tough, vividly imaginative, Pinsky’s poems have earned praise for their wild musical energy and ambitious range.

Poetry editor for the online magazine Slate, Pinsky appeared regularly on “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” for seven years. The recipient of numerous awards, his poems appear in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, American Poetry Review and other magazines.

Pinsky teaches in the graduate writing program at Boston University. He is one of the few members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters to have appeared on the Fox TV hit “The Simpsons” (season 13, episode 20) and “The Colbert Report” (April 19, 2007).

The lecture will begin at 6 p.m. at the Holiday Inn By the Bay. Tickets, $15/$10 for members, may be purchased at portlandmuseum.org or at the museum at Seven Congress Square. A book signing will follow the lecture.


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