Indiana State University Professor Matthew Brennan has completed work on his fifth book of poetry.
It was published in late July by Backwaters Press.
Brennan began work a decade ago on his 84-page collection titled “The House with the Mansard Roof.” It includes poems that have appeared individually in other publications throughout the past several years.
Some of this collection of Brennan’s work was influenced by artwork created in the 1930s and ’40s by American artists commissioned by the U.S. Works Progress Administration.
Prints of those Works Progress Administration paintings hang on the walls outside Brennan’s office in an upstairs hallway of Root Hall on the ISU campus.
But because Brennan is a poet whose creativity is spurred by his own personal experience, much of this work has a more personal connection for him. For example, the poem after which the book was named was inspired by a neighbor’s house that Brennan views from one of his own upstairs windows.
The release of this collection marks Brennan’s second book in as many years, but the publications couldn’t be more different. His last major offering, titled “The Sea-Crossing of Saint Brendan,” is a verse version of an eighth-century poem that was written originally in Latin prose. It details St. Brendan the Navigator’s seven-year search for the “Land of Saints.”
This new work offers a glimpse of Brennan’s more vulnerable side, he says. And because he discarded a number of previously published poems to assemble the best of his personal best, he likes to think “The House with the Mansard Roof” is a book that “holds up.”
It is a collection that captures the essence of why Brennan writes.
“When I’m writing a poem that works, I feel more fully myself then than at any other time,” he said.
Brennan, who completed his undergraduate work at Grinnell College, earned his master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Minnesota. He is a distinguished honorary member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars whose works have appeared in more than 60 publications.
“The House with the Mansard Roof,” published by The Backwaters Press, is available through the publisher or at barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com.
Arts
ISU English professor’s fifth collection of poetry released
- Arts
-
-
Halcyon Gallery showcases art of Evalyn James during May
Evalyn Gertrude James settled in Terre Haute the first time in 1928.
-
Bloomfield Art Festival seeks vendors
The 2012 Bloomfield Art Festival will take place June 9 in the Bloomfield Town Park and will feature live entertainment, food, and art exhibitions/competitions throughout the day.
-
Annual Paint Illinois Juried Exhibition at Bicentennial Art Center
A reception will begin at 5 p.m. Friday at the Bicentennial Art Center in Paris, Ill., for the public and exhibitors in the 16th annual Paint Illinois Juried Exhibition.
-
Art Guild features watercolor artist at library during May
Artist Roger King, a recent addition to the Wabash Valley Art Guild, is now featured at the Vigo County Public Library as “Artist of the Month.”
-
International exhibit to feature painting in ISU collection
An oil painting from Indiana State University’s Permanent Art Collection will be featured at an international exhibition in Belgium.
-
Wabash Valley Art Guild’s Spring Show at Honey Creek Mall this weekend
The Wabash Valley Art Guild’s 35th Annual Spring Show will be open to the community Friday through Sunday in Honey Creek Mall. Artists from throughout the Wabash Valley will be represented and promise to show a surprising variety of art.
-
See ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ free at Paris park
Discover Shakespeare’s comedic spectacle, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” as the group Stone Soup Shakespeare presents its magical and free production at 6 p.m. CDT on May 26 in Twin Lakes Park at Paris, Ill.
-
River City features works of Todd Stokes during May
Todd Stokes’ artwork has a tendency to fall into two separate bodies of work — one that represents that “simple break” where we stop to notice, to realize what we are given, the natural world that we so often take for granted, and a second that celebrates the creative energy that brought it all together.
-
Cultivating Creativity children’s exhibit on view in Paris though May 31
The traveling exhibition Cultivating Creativity 2011-2012: Consolidated Communications Children’s Art Exhibit continues its year-long tour in Paris at the Carnegie Public Library, 207 S. Main St. The exhibit will be on view through May 31. Cultivating Creativity showcases some of the outstanding art produced through east-central Illinois school art programs. Presented is art by 43 students, each representing a different school. The art was created during the 2010-11 school year.
-
Art Guild features works of Neil Garrison in April
Artist Neil Garrison, member of the Wabash Valley Art Guild, has a small grouping of art on display at Vigo County Public Library throughout the month of April.
-
Work reflects balance between subjects that are both peaceful, threatening
Gaslight Art Colony in Marshall, Ill., will show the work of Vickie Marsango beginning with an artist’s reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 21. The show can be viewed during regular gallery hours through May 12.
-
Blue Ribbon winner displays photography at Rockville Art Gallery
A new display featuring the photography skills of Rob Robbins is now on display at the Art Gallery on the north side of the square in Rockville.
-
Swope celebrates student art April 7 to May 12
The Swope Art Museum’s “45th Annual Student Art Exhibition,” made possible by Old National Bank, runs from April 7 to May 12.
-
Vigo County Library features watercolors by River City artist
River City Art Association and the Vigo County Public Library present artist Jim Tabor during the month of March.
-
See Indiana Heart Gallery at Sullivan County Library
A compelling exhibit of photographic portraits of children in need of adoptive families, the Indiana Heart Gallery, is stopping by the Sullivan County Library from Saturday through March 25.
-
Grand Prairie Studio now open in Palestine
A new studio has opened in Palestine, Ill. Grand Prairie Studio offers watercolor paintings, handmade jewelry, art supplies, workshops and gift items.
-
Chinese ensemble visits Valley as part of Arts Midwest World Fest
Eighteen musicians from the eastern regions of Asia will be visiting Charleston, Ill., and some Wabash Valley schools as part of Arts Midwest World Fest.
-
Chase away winter blues with Mardi Gras at the Swope
Chase away the winter blues without boarding a plane to New Orleans.
-
Internationally acclaimed artist debuts Terre Haute photographs
If you go
• ISU Art Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday. Free group tours are available upon request; call Barbara Räcker at (812) 237-3787. -
Terre Haute artist putting ‘The Good Housewife’ on exhibit in New Harmony
Former Terre Haute artist Mary Ann Michna will exhibit a series of mixed media artworks titlted “The Good Housewife” at the Women’s Institute and Gallery in New Harmony.
-
Traveling Civil War exhibit makes history personal
Civil War history will come alive for visitors to the Sullivan County Public Library who experience “Faces of the Civil War,” a traveling exhibition created and managed by the Indiana Historical Society.
-
‘All Dolled Up’ exhibit opens today VU’s Shircliff Gallery
“All Dolled Up,” an exhibition of handmade dolls, will open today at Vincennes University’s Shircliff Gallery of Art.
-
Bolte Taylor exhibit will feature 5-foot-tall brains
An Indiana brain scientist whose memoir about her recovery from a stroke became a best-seller has dreamed up an exhibit featuring giant brains that will be mounted around Bloomington this spring.
-
RCAA member presents ‘Waterfalls’ at Vigo Library
February brings a stunning exhibit of waterfalls by photographer Spencer Young to the Vigo County Public Library in Terre Haute.
-
River Wools’ Stitch Red/Wear Red part of First Friday events
Downtown Terre Haute’s First Friday is a monthly evening that encourages collaboration among downtown merchants, museums, galleries, and university and commercial venues.
-
Swope kicks off anniversary with ‘Reflecting’ exhibit
Swope Art Museum will kick off its 70th anniversary by hosting the exhibition, “Reflecting Terre Haute,” Friday through March 10 in the Haslem and Hodge galleries.
-
New Arts Corridor banners now hanging downtown
Arts Spaces Inc. recently worked with ISU’s Energize Downtown on a contest for a new banner design for the Arts Corridor.
-
Theater: Jan. 19, 2012
Today-Feb. 4 — “DEBBIE DOES DALLAS,” musical at Theatre on the Square, 627 Massachussetts Ave., Indianapolis. Call (317) 685-8687.
-
Actor to portray Lincoln at dinner for historical society
A special program, “And Lincoln Wrote,” is coming to Harlan Hall in Marshall, Ill., with a featured presentation by Dick Benach as Abraham Lincoln and Chuck Hand as the publisher of the Prairie Beacon.
-
BOOKS: Wabash Valley author to sign books at Java Haute on Saturday
Brazil resident Marjorie E. Hopkins will sign copies of her Christian Life book, “Dying to Meet Him: Wit and Wisdom from a Funeral Director’s Wife” from 1-3 p.m. Saturday in Java Haute, at 3805 Wabash Ave.
- More Arts Headlines
-
Halcyon Gallery showcases art of Evalyn James during May
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Astronauts Enter World's 1st Private Supply Ship
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Passenger Restrained on Flight to Miami Arrested
Today in History
Dragon Arrives at Space Station in Historic 1st
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
Shell Readies Arctic Drill Ship
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Police: Gunman Has Hostages in Realty Office
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Beer Here!: An Historic Exhibit
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
FAMU Bandmates: Victim Volunteered to Be Hazed
Wild weather for Memorial Day weekend
Inspiration for the class of 2012
Colorado College Student Shot While Trespassing
Will Smith & Josh Brolin on "Men in Black 3"
80-Year-Old Skydiver's Nightmare Jump
JWoww Sizzles in a Black Bikini
Sliders on the Grill
Cruise ship crunch
Backstage With Beyonce
Ultimate Creamy Potato Salad
Pope's Personal Butler Under Arrest
Jenny McCarthy's New Man
Tyler's Classic Coleslaw
Britney Spears Under X Factor Fire
Flesh-Eating Bacteria Victim Hits Milestone
Hurricanes and Heat Waves Across America
Kristen Stewart Is Red Hot
Shark Attacks Australian Fishing Boat
Bradley out for playoffs
Kayaker Survives Trip Over Washington Waterfall
