Oct. 22, Thursday -- Frank Bidart, one of the most admired contemporary American poets, will read for the UC Davis English department.

A native of Bishop and Bakersfield, Bidart’s early poems question the role the myth of the Wild West played in family histories of alcoholism and self-destructive behavior. His later work is best known for long narrative poems and dramatic monologues about people in extreme predicaments, where creativity hovers on the edge of crime or insanity.

Bidart won the Bollingen Prize in 2007 and twice has been a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize. His most recent books are "Star Dust" and "Watching the Spring Festival." He teaches at Wellesley College.

Bidart will read at 8 p.m. in Room 126 of Voorhies Hall, at the corner of First and A streets. The public is welcome. For more information, contact Janie Guhin, (530) 752-2281, jsguhin@ucdavis.edu.