"Wednesdays at 4 Plus," the bi-annual literary series sponsored by the Poetics Program in the Department of English, this fall will celebrate the 75th birthday of Jackson MacLow, one of America's most renowned and innovative poets, with special readings by or in honor of MacLow on Sept. 24, Oct. 8 and Nov. 19.

David Ignatow, one of the nation's most distinguished poets, considered the poetic heir of Whitman and William Carlos Williams, will present the Oscar Silverman Memorial Reading on Nov. 14.

In the 1950s, MacLow was associated with both the second generation of Black Mountain poets like Robert Creeley, and with the Fluxus movement comprised of such artists as John Cage, George Brecht, Toshi Ichiyanagi, Al Hanson, Allen Kaprow and LaMonte Young. From this convergence of the minimalist forms developed by both groups emerged sound poetry and language poetry, of which MacLow is a critically recognized master. He has been cited as an important influence by several major postmodernist writers, and his work, "Words and Ends from Ez," is an important re-reading of seminal American poet Ezra Pound.

Ignatow is recognized for the subtlety of his art and concern with human mortality and alienation in the world as it is "defined by suffering and despair, redeemed at crucial times by cosmic vision and shared lives."

Of Ignatow, writer Gerald Stern has said, "...what I have always liked most about his poems, the wisdom, and the humility. They are truly there. We are in the presence of an overwhelmingly important voice. It is eternity speaking."

Writers to lecture

In addition to MacLow and Ignatow, writers who will read or lecture in the fall series are poets Kevin Killian (Sept. 17) and Michael Basinski (Sept. 24); novelist Marta Werner (Sept. 30); author and poet David Bromige (Oct. 20); poet Laura Moriarty (Oct. 29), and poets Steve McCaffery (Nov. 5) and Randall McLeod (Nov. 13).

Bilingual poet and performance artist Janine Pommy Vega will be the guest author at a reading and book signing on Oct. 1 at Talking Leaves Books honoring the publication of her new travel book, "Tracking The Serpent: Journeys to Four Continents." Vega is often included in lists of the best American beat writers, and her work can be found in a compilation by Brenda Knight titled "The Writers, Artists, And Muses At The Heart Of A Revolution."

On Nov. 19, UB will host a performance by F'loom (formerly known as Murmer), an all-male vocal trio whose members draw their material from literature, music, comedy and social commentary and are rapidly developing a national reputation as performance artists. This performance will honor Jackson MacLow's birthday.

Jonas here Dec. 3 and 4

On Dec. 4, Joan Jonas, a renowned performer, stage director and video artist from New York City, will present a lecture, "Video as a Medium." Among her early and well-known works is "Double Lunar Dogs" (1984), which originated as a performance and was later recorded on both videotape and film. The recorded material has been transformed in the editing process, notably through the use of video effects. The performers include Jonas, Spalding Gray, Jill Kroesen and David Warrilow.

There also will be a lecture on Oct. 14 by poet Alan Halsey and a poetry reading on Oct. 15 featuring Halsey and Geraldine Monk. Author of "Five Years Out" and "Perspectives on the Reach," Halsey is known for his fierce, quiet poetic voice, both determined and without illusion. Monk is the author of "The Sway of Precious Demons: Selected Poems" and the novel "Interregnum." The latter work explores current and historical abuse and misuse of language for the purpose of limiting the freedom of certain individuals and groups, in this case, a group of East Lancashire "witches," hanged in 1612, who had fallen victim to what Monk calls a "patriarchal language-magic far more potent than their own."