Over the course of his career, Mark Strand has won what might be termed the Poet's Trifecta: a Pulitzer Prize, a term as poet laureate, and a MacArthur Foundation fellowship. And, although the writer projects a certain self-effacing quality, some of his best works are meditations on his craft. The New Poetry Handbook, which begins with the declaration, "If a man understands a poem, he shall have troubles," is wryly funny; Eating Poetry is absurd but charming and immediate; Strand has also edited several anthologies and penned a series of essays on his vocation. That's not to say that his work is irrelevant for those without literary ambitions—Strand also writes often about the world beyond the ivory tower.
Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m., free, Stoddard Auditorium, Smith College, (413)585-4891, www.smith.edu.
