Poet reads words of transience and aging

In an informal reading yesterday at College Hall, poet Michael Blumenthal said he was breaking with tradition by reading a few selections by Hungarian poets – lauding poetry in general instead of just his own works. "I generally believe that a reading shouldn't just be a solitary celebration of just one author," he explained. Blumenthal's poetry, which dealt with a wide range of subjects including the sound of words, children and love, reflected a slightly rebellious attitude. Even though Blumenthal's poems covered various topics and ideas, many were about growing old and the transience and blessedness of human life. "When I started writing poetry, I mainly wrote love poems about affairs, women, sex, love," Blumenthal said. "But now that I'm married and older, I'm realizing that I'm aging, and when you reach the later part of your life, you tend to write about it." Blumenthal has already had five collections published including his latest publications, Against Romance and The Wages of Goodness. The audience consisted mostly of graduate and undergraduate students interested in studying English. Blumenthal, a former director of the creative writing program at Harvard University, received favorable reactions from his audience. "He read with a lot of enthusiasm and was very personable," said College freshman Antonio Cartolano. "It was a really intimate and comfortable setting." "Michael delivers his poems in a way to lure you into the poem," said Greg Djanikian, acting director of the Writing program. "I think he sees what is dark and knows always the possibility of loss, but nothing stops his ability to praise, even though what is being praised won't stay before us." "Things keep dying, but that doesn't stop him from praising," he added. Djanikian invited Blumenthal to read at the University. The reading was also sponsored in part by the Philomathean Society.