Poet Gildner captures Milligan crowd

Gildner made his first appearance in the chapel service where he read one of his poems and invited students to come to the two poetry readings at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Sigma Tau Delta and Milligan Arts Council hosted the afternoon reading on the Mary Sword commons, which was the "highlight of the semester," according to English and humanities professor Ruth McDowell Cook.

The afternoon reading was attended by about 100 faculty and students.

Gildner, who read mainly from his poems that have not yet been published, spoke for approximately 40 minutes. He told the crowd what had inspired each of the poems before reading them.

The remainder of the 75-minute session was filled with poetry read by students and professors.

Cook, who began planning Gildner’s visit last year when she served as chairman of the Milligan Arts Council, said she sees his style of writing as romantic.

"He writes about the common subjects of life - cow pies, 4-H sheep, wildflowers on his mountain, the experiences of youth -- topics all human beings can relate to," Cook said.

Senior Sigma Tau Delta member Mandy Patterson organized the afternoon reading.

"I thought that the casual atmosphere contributed to the success of the day," Patterson said. "We were able to interact with him on a personal level while hearing his poetry in a non-obtrusive way."

The structure of the 7 p.m. poetry reading was similar to the afternoon event, but Gildner was the only one who shared poems. It was held in Hyder Auditorium with about 75 people in attendance.

Gildner, who has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English from Michigan State, has published 17 books, including books of poetry, short stories, novels and memoirs.

He has received numerous awards for his writings including the National Magazine Award for Fiction, Pushcart Prizes in fiction and non-fiction, the Robert Frost Fellowship, the William Carlos Williams and Theodore Roethke poetry prizes and two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships. He received the 1996 Iowa Poetry Prize for his book "The Parsley in the Bunker Fields" and his memoir "My Grandfather’s Book" was named Top Ten University Press Book of the Year.