The Kelly Writers House hosted two events commemorating the life and work of poet, critic, and longtime PoemTalk contributor Tyrone Williams on Nov. 12.
The day featured a live PoemTalk episode and a reading in celebration of the life of Williams, who died at the age of 70 after a cancer diagnosis in March 2024. KWH Faculty Director Al Filreis and guest speakers shared personal anecdotes about Williams, analyzed his poetry, and emphasized the importance of continuing to engage with his work.
Williams was the author of several poetry collections and was an English professor at Xavier University in Cincinnati until his retirement in 2023. The PennSound website holds a catalog of Williams' poem readings and discussions beginning in 2006.
The PoemTalk episode commemorating Williams took place in the Arts Café of the KWH. Hosted by Filreis, the discussion focused on Williams’ poem “Charon on the Potomac,” which is about Charon — the ferryman of the dead — and grapples with existentialism. Temple University poet-in-residence Erica Hunt, retired Penn State professor Aldon Lynn Nielsen, and KWH Associate Faculty Director Simone White joined Filreis in the discussion. Later in the evening, the Writers House hosted a reading of Williams’ poetry.
Hunt said that “Charon on the Potomac” is a “prophetic piece of poetry” whose subject is “power and consequence,” connecting it to the recent election.
“There's this way that we are governed by people with power who don't always think of the consequences. And this election is one,” she said. “And there will be consequences. And the consequences are unfathomable, but what is surely the case is there will also be a price for those consequences.”
Hunt also mentioned Williams’ engagement with poetry as both a writer and a reader.
“I think he was a very close reader of things,” she told The Daily Pennsylvanian after the event. “That always helps when there's someone who receives the poem, and you think, ‘Oh, this makes sense to me.’ And he was like that. He verified it. He said, ‘Yeah, this is making an impact,’ and I think that's important.”
In addition, she said that Williams was a “prolific reviewer.”
“He was fully steeped in poetry as a worthy and valuable activity and as a place to build knowledge and move further and construct the future we want,” she said.
For Nielsen, the event was an opportunity to reflect on Williams’ influence and legacy. Nielsen said that he is editing a book of Williams’ essays, and a scholar in New York is editing a book of his reviews. Once the two books are done, they will have a collection of Williams’ work.
“The main thing I want people to take away from this day is just what an expansive person he was, his poetry, his criticism, and now we know his sermons as well,” Nielsen said. “He didn't fit into any particular group of poets. He was very much his own poet, and we're hoping that more people will see that and learn from it and be inspired by it.”
Nielsen also emphasized the reciprocal relationship between Williams and the KWH community.
“On the one hand, Kelly Writers House really supported Tyrone Williams' work,” he said. “Now, on the other hand, his work really supported the Writers House, and particularly all the students.”
The events were an introduction to Williams’ work for many attendees. First-year English graduate student Jordan Trice said that Williams’ work was “fascinating” and “had so many layers.”
“I'm interested in Pennsylvanian poetry, especially African American poetry, and I've heard about Tyrone Williams from Al Filreis,” Trice said. “I was excited to come and it was really an incredible experience.”
Filreis said that one of the main goals of the events was to ensure Williams’ work reached new audiences.
“This is the second time we're talking about Tyrone on PoemTalk,” Filreis said. “Not that many people have two PoemTalks. So it's our intention to strongly imply that Tyrone's poetry is important, that he’s worth a 55-minute conversation, and that people should follow up and listen and read.”
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