Paul Auster is internationally renowned as a writer of luminous and penetrating prose, yet he began his writing career as a poet, publishing several volumes of haunting, densely lyrical verse. In the 1970s, when Auster’s poetry was published in small press collections, he gave a reading at the Walker to literally a handful of listeners. In collaboration with Rain Taxi Review of Books, we are delighted to bring him back to the Walker stage to share his verse, which poet John Ashbery describes as “magnificent poetry: dark, severe, even harsh—yet pulsating with life.” The reading is followed by an onstage discussion with Eric Lorberer, editor of Rain Taxi, about the poetic roots of Auster’s fiction.
Auster is the author of 11 acclaimed novels and several works of nonfiction. His volume Collected Poems was published in 2004. Poet and editor Lorberer co-curates the Walker’s Free Verse readings