Tickets FREE, RSVP REQUIRED RESERVE TICKETS NOW! The Church is thrilled to welcome Marie Howe, former poet laureate of New York (2012-2014), and Bret. A Johnston, current Director of the Michener Center for Writers, for an intimate poetry reading and discussion. A Collaboration with Steinbeck House, where Marie will be a writer in residence, this program invites audiences to contemplate poetry in real time and learn from two established authors. Reading from New and Selected Poems, which includes poems from her previous work, the Pulitzer Prize winning poet takes us through a poetic landscape that also traverses the spiritual. Following the discussion there will be a Q&A with the speakers as well as a book signing with both authors. Books will be available to purchase from our community booksellers Canio’s. This reading and discussion has been programmed in tandem with our summer exhibition THIS LAND: Considering the American Landscape, which can be viewed June 21 – September 6 during our exhibition hours 11 AM – 5 PM, Thursday-Monday. MARIE HOWE Former New York State Poet Laureate ABOUT MARIE Marie Howe is the former poet laureate of New York (2012-2014). The recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Academy of American Poets, she teaches at Sarah Lawarence College and lives in New York City. Marie is the author of New and Selected Poems (W.W. Norton 2024) which includes poems from her four previous books. She is the poet in residence at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, and a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. Born in Rochester, New York, Marie attended Sacred Heart Convent School and the University of Windsor. She earned an MFA from Columbia University, where she studied with Stanley Kunitz, whom she refers to as “My true teacher.” “Marie Howe’s poetry is luminous, intense, and eloquent, rooted in an abundant inner life. Her long, deep-breathing lines address the mysteries of flesh and spirit, in terms accessible only to a woman who is very much of our time and yet still in touch with the sacred.” –Stanley Kunitz BRET A. JOHNSTON Director, Michener Center for Writers ABOUT BRET Bret Anthony Johnston’s most recent book is Encounters with Unexpected Animals: Stories. He is the internationally bestselling author of We Burn Daylight, Remember Me Like This, and Corpus Christi: Stories. His work appears in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, The Best American Short Stories, and elsewhere. In April, he was named as a 2026 Guggenheim Fellow, and he’s the Director of the Michener Center for Writers. STEINEBCK HOUSE SteinbckhouseNY.org ABOUT STEINBECK HOUSE Steinbeck House is dedicated to preserving and promoting the literary legacy of John Steinbeck by safeguarding his home in Sag harbor. The house was preserved in March of 2023 with generous grants from the Town of Southampton, New York State, and private donations. Our par...
