[New York, NY]

Ben Lerner and Anna Moschovakis host Anne Portugal and Pierre Alferi
April 23, 2014, 6:00 pm
at Poets House

With musician Charlie Burnham and artwork by students from SVA. The evening also includes a cocktail hour.Anne Portugal is a French poet who lives and works in Paris. Her recent work Définitif bob, translated by Jennifer Moxley as Absolute Bob (Burning Deck Press), has been the subject of considerable critical and popular interest. Other books include Les commodités d’une banquette (1980), De quoi faire un mur(1985), Le plus simple appareil (1992) trad. Norma Cole Kelsey Nude, Dans la reproduction en 2 parties égales des plantes et des animaux (1999) in collaboration with Suzanne Doppelt, Définitif bob (2001) and La formule flirt (2010).Pierre Alferi is one of today’s most innovative French poets and the son of philosopher Jacques Derrida. Alferi’s books experiment with linguistic formulas and reflexive writing, without falling into the trap of empty lyricism. In his writing, all categories merge and stretch to compose a form that is constantly reinvented and critically connected to the surrounding world. Alferi's verse is pleasantly irregular, often short with abrupt cuts and breaks, as if to signify a struggle and the refusal of restraint.Ben Lerner is an American poet, novelist, essayist and critic. Among many awards, he received in 2013 a Guggenheim Fellowship for his work. He is the author of several full-length poetry collections, including Mean Free Path (2010).Anna Moschovakis is a poet, translator and editor. She is the author of two books of poetry and has translated the works of Albert Cossery, Annie Ernaux, Marcelle Sauvageot, Didier Daeninckx, and Claude Cahun, among others.