Robert Bly

Robert Bly, one of America's most influential poets, will discuss "The Soul is Here for Its Own Joy: An Evening of Sacred Poetry," at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 25, at UNC Asheville's Humanities Lecture Hall. Bly will read from his own work and will talk about the poetry of Rumi, Hafez and Mirabai.

In his wide-ranging role as groundbreaking poet, poetry translator, storyteller, editor and father of what he calls "the expressive men's movement," Bly remains one of the hotly debated artists of the past half-century. His bestselling book, “Iron John,” sparked the popular men’s movement and defined a whole generation’s view on masculinity. Bly is the author of more than 30 books of poetry, including the 1968 collection “The Light Around the Body,” which won the National Book Award. As editor of The Fifties, The Sixties and The Seventies magazines, Bly introduced many unknown European and South American poets to an American audience. He is editor of many poetry collections and author of numerous of nonfiction books. Bly’s honors include Guggenheim, Rockefeller and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships.

Seating is very limited. General admission tickets are $15; $10 for senior citizens ages 55 and older. To purchase tickets by phone, call the UNC Asheville Box Office at 828/232-5000. Tickets may also be purchased with cash or check at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café, 55 Haywood St., downtown Asheville.

The event is sponsored by UNC Asheville’s Office of Cultural & Special Events and the Prama Institute, a new educational retreat center located in Marshall, N.C. Additional support is provided by the Great Smokies Writing Program, a consortium of Western North Carolina writers at UNC Asheville.

For more information about this event, call UNC Asheville's Cultural & Special Events Office at 828/251-6227 or click on www.unca.edu/culturalarts/.