An Evening with John Yau
Poet and art critic John Yau reads and discusses his work at the Morgan Library in a rare extended engagement with one of American poetry's most formally inventive voices.
Why we picked this
Yau has published over fifty books of poetry and art criticism and remains genuinely underrated — his poems do things with language that most readers have to catch up to. An evening at the Morgan gives him space to let the work breathe alongside their collection.
John Yau has published more than fifty books — poetry, fiction, and art criticism — making him one of the most prolific serious writers working in American letters. His poetry is known for its rigorous engagement with visual culture, its willingness to pun and trope in ways that feel earned rather than clever, and its sustained attention to how language shapes and distorts perception. He is also one of the most important critics writing about contemporary art, with a long record of championing underrecognized figures.
An Evening with John Yau at the Morgan Library will include a reading from his poetry and an opportunity to hear him speak about his work and the relationship between poetry and the visual arts. The Morgan’s collection — drawings, manuscripts, rare books — provides a setting that suits a writer whose work consistently moves between literary and visual traditions.
Tickets are $25; $20 for Morgan members. The Morgan has made this kind of extended literary evening a consistent feature of its programming, providing a more intimate encounter with significant writers than most larger venues allow.