On Nov. 6, three professors who have been published through FootHills Press, a regional publisher of poetry, gave poetry readings at the Lederer Gallery.
The readers included current English professors Eugene Stelzig and Catherine Faurot and former Geneseo professor John Roche.
At the beginning of the presentation Rachel Hall, English professor, promised that "when we leave here today we will see more sharply and brightly who we are."
Faurot read poems from her published book, "Plow, Harrow, Seed" as well as a few of her unpublished poems. Thematically, she said that much of her writing examined "technology as a poetic metaphor."
Faurot's published selections contained many allusions to Greek mythology; her unpublished poems were translations of works that Catullus, a Roman poet, had written to a lover. Faurot coupled these with original responses from the point of view of the lover.
Roche presented selections from two of his published books, "On Conesus" and "Topicalities." According to Roche, "On Conesus" happens, "across a fictional year, much like "Walden" … [and] has seasonal poems." In contrast, "Topicalities" is comprised of poems based on headlines and issues of the day, and many are political in nature. Roche closed with a poem called "Here's for All," written on behalf of all the poets who may never have their words published.
Stelzig presented last, reading recently composed poems as well as several from his book, "Fool's Gold." His poems were diverse in theme and content; the poems were seasonal, political, personal and some were what Stelzig called "venting poems."
He opened with two poems written in previous years: one contemplating the death of Jimi Hendrix, the other a poem from his early collection, "Moving to the Country," that addressed his exodus to the countryside of Groveland, N.Y.
From "Fool's Gold," Stelzig read eight poems, the last of which was the collection's title poem. He closed out his reading with eleven other poems, some new and some old.
The reading was presented in conjunction with the "Marking the Landscape" exhibit held in the Lederer Gallery.