The Poetry of d.a. levy

Mystic, poet, and patron saint of the American alternative press, d.a. levy remains one of the most intriguing figures to emerge from the Cleveland underground in the 1960s. That levy committed suicide at the age of 26 — after publishing works like the North American Book of the Dead, Cleveland Undercovers, and Suburban Monastery Death Poem and getting busted for distributing obscenity to minors — just adds to his cred as a cultural lighting rod. Happily for levy fans, tonight’s 7 p.m. program at the Lakewood Public Library will try to bring some scholarship to the poet and his times. On the panel: New York poet-publisher Tod Thilleman, former library director Kenneth Warren, and poet-professor Richard Blevins, who has recently completed a major new work inspired by levy entitled Medieval Ohio: a Poem for d.a. levy. The free program is part of the library’s ongoing celebration of National Poetry Month. No registration is required.