Poetry Phone
Skip to main content

Poetry Phone

Look around the Walker for the black rotary dial phone on a fake rock. When the phone rings, pick up! There is probably a poet on the line waiting to read to you. The poetry phone offers mobile personal poetry performances, given via telephone by a variety of poets. Readings take place throughout the day in a variety of locations across the Walker campus. Poetry curated by Joshua Beckman, who is a poet himself, and enjoys the occasional phone call.

Joshua Beckman

was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He is the author of seven books, including Take It (Wave Books, 2009), Shake and two collaborations with Matthew Rohrer: Nice Hat. Thanks. and Adventures While Preaching the Gospel of Beauty. He is an editor at Wave Books and has translated numerous works of poetry and prose, including 5 Meters of Poems by Carlos Oquendo de Amat and Poker by Tomaž Šalamun, which was a finalist for the PEN America Poetry in Translation Award. He is also the recipient of numerous other awards including a NYFA fellowship and a Pushcart Prize. He lives in Seattle and New York.