Eileen Myles, Paul Mellon Distinguished Fellow Lecture 2017

Eileen Myles begins their lecture by talking about their experiences living as young poet in New York during the 1970s, their years as a professor at USCD, and the important, deep relationship they had developed with their late dog, Rosie, which continues to live on long after Rosie’s death. Eileen also talks about the act of writing as a form of visual art and performing, and does a reading of some of their written works. Myles talks about the importance of titling their writing, and the power that can come in claiming a poem through the title. Myles reflects on how their writing has turned into a practice of thinking out loud to the page and the rituals that arise from this relationship.