DANBURY, Connecticut — In November 2025, Western Connecticut State University Provost Dr. Stephen Hegedus announced the Provost’s Distinguished Lecture Series: Advancing Knowledge Through Dialogue and Discovery. The three-part series sought to bring leading voices from across disciplines to share their insights, scholarship, and vision with the community. The final lecture in the spring 2026 series is on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
Dr. Brian Clements, Connecticut State University Professor of Writing, Linguistics and Creative Process, and director of the university’s Kathwari Honors Program, will speak at 5:30 p.m. in Room 218, the President’s Reception Room, in the Westside Classroom Building, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury.
Clements will share his thoughts on “The Marketplace of Campo de’ Fiori, or What is Poetry?” Clements’ summary states, “In the United States, the public often turns to poetry after times of tragedy and forgets about it much of the rest of the time. Poetry receives less funding than any of the other arts. Yet there are more people writing (if not reading) poetry now than ever before, and capital-P Poetry is highly reputable — so much so that we commonly praise songwriters and speechwriters by calling them poets. In this talk and reading, Dr. Clements will discuss the public and private roles of poetry and the reasons poetry persists in a hyper-capitalist economy where it seems to have little economic value.”
Following the Distinguished Lecture, a reception will be held to allow for conversation and connection. The lecture and reception are free, and the public is invited. Register to attend at www.wcsu.edu/academics/provosts-distinguished-lecture/.
Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals, and leaders in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.