University Park, PA -- The second annual "An Evening of Pennsylvania Poets: Readings in Celebration of the Public Poetry Project" will be held in the Lawrence G. and Ellen Foster Auditorium, 101 Pattee Library, on March 28, 7:00–8:30 p.m., followed immediately by a reception in the Charles W. Mann Jr. Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library. Four poets will read poems, including the poems selected for the 2001 Public Poetry Project poster series.

The poets include the Pennsylvania Center for the Book Best Unpublished Poet in Pennsylvania winner Margaret Almon of Lansdowne, reading "The Earliest Memory"; Deborah Burnham from the University of Pennsylvania, reading "Fire in the Onion Field"; Maurice Kilwein Guevara of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, reading "Once When I Was in the Eighth Grade"; and Elizabeth Scroggin from Messiah College, reading "Pagan."

The Public Poetry Project, which focuses on poets with a connection to Pennsylvania, was initiated in 1999 by Kim Fisher, the first Paterno Family Librarian for Literature at Penn State. Fisher's vision was to display poetry in public places so that it might become part of the daily lives of a greater number of people. Over the past two years, fourteen poems have been printed and displayed in public places throughout Pennsylvania. The project continues under the direction of Steven L. Herb, director of the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, with the support of the University Libraries, Paterno Family Librarian for Literature William S. Brockman, and the Department of English in the College of the Liberal Arts.

The readings and reception are open to the public. For more information, visit www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu or contact Steven L. Herb, slh18@psu.edu or 814-865-0401.