Czeslaw Milosz remains one of the most vital poets of our age. His work--including essays, novels, and poems--give profound expression to the tragedies and hopes of our time as well as to our ethical and spiritual conflicts. In 1998, Claremont McKenna College was pleased to host an International Milosz Festival over four days. Poets and scholars from around the world spoke about Milosz's work; and Milosz himself honored us by being present for the entire event.
In honor of the centenary of Milosz's birth, the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies and the Milosz Institute, both of Claremont McKenna College, are hosting a three-day festival, "Milosz and the Future", October 19-21st. Readings by Polish and American poets, writers, and translators as well as an open discussions about Milosz's reputation in the United States and Poland and his impact on modern poetry will be the focus of the festival. We are celebrating not only the work of Czeslaw Milosz but also the vitality of American and Polish poetry.