Robert Pinsky occupies an interesting space in pop culture.

He is a past poet laureate (1997-2000) for the United States, poetry editor at Slate and a commentator on “The Newshour” with Jim Lehrer. The New Yorker and the Atlantic Monthly have published his work.

But his biggest pop moment may well be his appearance on “The Simpsons.”

“Always an odd association for me,” Pinsky wrote in an exchange of e-mails, “because I taped the show on Sept. 10, 2001 — flew Boston to L.A. on the day before the horrible attacks, on the same American Airlines flight. Then I was a guest of the Fox network, stranded in L.A. for a week. The people at ‘The Simpsons’ were very nice to me during that period.”

Pinsky will deliver the Portland Museum of Art’s 2011 Bernard A. Osher Lecture at 6 p.m. Monday at Holiday Inn by the Bay. His talk is inspired by the exhibition of Edward Weston’s black-and-white photography, “Leaves of Graves,” at the PMA through March 13.

The show illustrates Weston’s cross-country journey in the early 1940s to illustrate a deluxe edition of Walt Whitman’s epic poem.

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Pinsky will talk about the influence of Whitman on his life and on our culture, and of his adoration of Weston’s portrayal.

His talk is titled “Is Vision the Twin of Speech?”

Whitman, Pinsky wrote, “has a vision of culture that is inclusive, ambitious, democratic and exalted . . . I associate Weston and Whitman, and even more the combination of the two, with an improvisatory, ad hoc fiber in American life. Without the single, unifying folk culture or religion of some countries; without the intense snob value or social prestige associated with art and poetry in some countries . . . we make it up as we go along. As did the original editors of this project, and as did Weston, and as did the present curators.”

Pinsky treats his laureate title as an honor, a compliment. He wears it with pride but cares little for formal titles or any official role and responsibility. He is an ambassador, passionate about his work and his beliefs.

He declines wearing the title like a crown.

“Often enough, mediocrity wins the Oscar or Nobel, while someone like Chaplin or Hitchcock or Proust or Hopkins goes unrecognized,” he wrote. “The list of 18th- and 19th- century poet laureates is droll. John Keats is not on it.”

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Pinsky has high hopes for his visit to Maine. He’s always glad to see this exhibition, and to talk about Whitman and Weston. And he’s glad to be in Longfellow’s hometown, happy to be coming to a place where poetry is revered by many and treated respectfully by most.

He was not aware of the poetry flap surrounding the inauguration of Gov. Paul LePage, nor did he care to discuss it.

“Official recognition . . . I’m not a great enthusiast of it, but I’m not against it either,” he wrote. 

Staff Writer Bob Keyes can be contacted at 791-6457 or at:

bkeyes@pressherald.com

Follow him on Twitter at:

twitter.com/pphbkeyes

 


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