Watch acclaimed poet, professor emerita read poem about acclaimed GVSU sculpture while standing beside it

A recent Grand Valley Art Museum gathering included a celebration of the best of art at Grand Valley: A distinguished GVSU poet reading her poem inspired by a distinguished piece from Grand Valley's robust collection while she stood next to it.

Patricia Clark, professor emerita of writing and former poet laureate of Grand Rapids, read her poem, "Char," from her new book, "O Lucky Day," while standing next to "Char," the 1,200-pound, life-sized horse by renowned sculptor Deborah Butterfield that is cast bronze.

Clark was so moved when she saw the sculpture that she decided to write a poem about it. When Nathan Kemler, director of Galleries and Collections, heard about Clark's poem, he said he knew they had to "bring her voice and vision back to the sculpture – inviting her to recite the poem in front of the artwork so our community could witness the profound dialogue between visual and literary expression."

That happened this month on the fifth-floor terrace of the DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health at a gathering of the newly established membership group, the Friends of Art , which is committed to championing the GVSU art collection.

Watch Clark read her poem, below.