20th Annual Levis Reading Prize
captured March 29, 2018

	Welcome & Introduction      by John Ulmschneider Larry Levis “In 1967,” or, What Did You Do in the War, Daddy-o?      by Gregory Donovan A Reading by Solmaz Sharif       Introduction by Emily Block

The 20th annual Levis Reading Prize was awarded to Iranian American poet Solmaz Sharif for her collection Look (Graywolf Press, 2016). Sharif and her writing were celebrated at an event held at Virginia Commonwealth University’s James Branch Cabell Library on the evening of March 29, 2018.

University Librarian John Ulmschneider’s welcome includes a special thanks to the sponsors of the Levis Reading Prize as well as supporters of the library’s other literary events and the acquisition of papers of Virginia writers, such as those archived in the Levis Collection.

Gregory Donovan’s “Larry Levis ‘In 1967,’ or, What Did You Do in the War, Daddy-o?” discusses the backgrounds of the Levis poem “In 1967,” published in Elegy (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997).

Emily Block, the 2017–2018 Levis Fellow, introduces Solmaz Sharif and discusses the unique nature and strengths of her award-winning collection.

Solmaz Sharif’s reading from Look and newer work concludes the evening.