W&L Professors to Read from New Works of Poetry

By Erica Turman
January 22, 2018

Washington and Lee University will host a reading by professors Roberta Senechal De La Roche, professor of history, and Lesley Wheeler, The Henry S. Fox Professor of English, on Jan. 24 at 4:30 p.m. in Northern Auditorium.

Both poets will read from their most recent works. Wheeler will read from her poetry chapbook, “Propagation,” while Senechal De La Roche will read from her poetry collection “Blind Flowers.” The event is free and open to the public.

“Propagation” is a fairy tale set during the thirty days of April, which is also one morning’s walk in the woods. The main character is a woman in crisis who, among other things, may be accidentally pregnant.

“I based the landscape, especially the early spring wildflowers, on the cross-country trails on W&L’s back campus,” said Wheeler. “The replica of Thoreau’s cabin is in there, too.”

Influenced by Senechal De La Roche’s Native American background, the poems in “Blind Flowers” express a rage against transience, a sense of alienation from nature and a search for the lost supernatural in a secular age.

Following the readings, there will be books for sale plus refreshments courtesy of the Glasgow Endowment.