The 16th International Poetry Reading Night

The 16th International Poetry Reading Night is an annual event dedicated to building cultural understanding through the beauty of poetry. Since Drs. Audrey Fessler and Jeff Vahlbusch co-started the very first International Poetry Reading Night 16 years ago, there have been hundreds of Eau Claire community members who attended this event. Every year, we welcome Eau Claire students, faculty and staff, and local residents to read poems in a language other than modern standard English. We hope to increase public awareness of language diversity, and offer opportunities for those poetry and language lovers to showcase their talents. Over the years, the audience has appreciated hearing the world of poetry in over 40 languages, including Icelandic, Chinese, Hmong, Korean and many more. A variety of food and beverages, souvenirs as well as event publications will be available for audience members. We look forward to seeing you at this event. The International Poetry Reading is sponsored by Dr. Thomas King, professor emeritus of communication sciences and disorders, and his wife, Debra; the Center for International Education; the UW-Eau Claire Foundation; and the departments of English and languages. ** We are still inviting readers for this year's event. If you are interested in reading a poem in any language other than Modern Standard English, please send us your name and the full poem by Wednesday, April 6th. Email us at internationalpoetryreading@gmail.com (mailto:internationalpoetryreading@gmail.com). **