Kenneth Weisinger Lecture in German and Comparative Literature, “The Aboutness of Poems: Things and Things’ Selves in Rilke” by William Waters at 4 p.m. in Dwinelle 3335.

William Waters is the author of Poetry’s Touch: On Lyric Address, published in 2003 by Cornell University Press. This book is a study of poetic address and of the formal ways in which poetry engages and appeals to readers. Taking as its central thread the poetry of Rilke, the book also examines the workings of address in the works of Keats, Dickinson and Ashbery.

This is the inaugural Kenneth Weisinger Lecture in German and Comparative Literature. In Dr. Ken Weisinger’s memory, the Departments of Comparative Literature the German Department will be inviting a speaker each spring to talk about German literature in a comparative context, featuring topics close to Dr. Weisinger’s interests—lyric poetry, literature and music, German echoes of Classical literature.