A Conversation with Kevin Holden

My mother has your shotgun. One man, wide

in the mind, and tendoned like a grizzly, pried

to his trigger-digit, pal.

Kevin Holden '05, who just finished his PhD in comparative literature at Yale, is Kirkland's Poet in Residence for the 2015-2016 school year. Holden, who was involved in poetry during his time on campus with the Advocate and Gamut magazines, plans to hold bi-weekly poetry tables in Kirkland's Private Dining Room as well as hold two or three formal readings each semester. By Michelle M. Ng

Kevin B. Holden ’05 quotes poetry slowly, cautiously, dredging each line from memory with a look of intense concentration. This verse, drawn from John Berryman’s “Dream Song 34,” is one of his favorites. “The ideas are really interesting and strange, but so are the sounds. There are these long vowel sounds, and the t’s and the g’s and the d’s. It’s just this really sonically interesting thing that, for some reason, has stayed in my mind for years.”

When it comes to poetry, Holden knows what he’s talking about. As an undergrad, he was deeply involved in Harvard’s poetry scene, serving on the executive board of a number of publications including the Advocate and all-poetry magazine the Gamut. He continued to write and study in the years following, publishing several books of poetry while earning an M.Phil at Cambridge, an MFA at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, and a Ph.D. at Yale.

Now back at Harvard, Holden continues to juggle both academic and creative work. “There’s this wearing of two hats,” he explains. “One is being a scholar. Being in the Society of Fellows, working on my first book of criticism, writing literary scholarship about poetry and philosophy of poetry. The other is being here, as [Kirkland House] Poet in Residence.”

The latter is a recent development for Holden, who stepped into the role just a few weeks ago. The position itself, however, has precedent: Over the years, it has been intermittently occupied by a number of celebrated poets, including Pulitzer Prize- winning poet Elizabeth Bishop, who began working out of a second floor Kirkland suite in 1969.

As Kirkland poet in residence, Holden is charged with creating opportunities for students to engage with poetry. His first project is a biweekly poetry table, held in Kirkland’s private dining room on alternate Tuesdays.

“The idea is to be pretty open and relaxed. People can read poems by poets that they enjoy, or read poems that they like, and we can talk about them and share them. If people want to read their own work, they could,” he explains. “Mostly it will be just a space to talk about poetry and read poetry out loud.” Holden also plans to organize two or three formal readings each semester. “I’ll bring in poets to give readings and have conversations with students....We can do that in the Junior Common Room. It’s a great space for it.”

Citing his experience with Harvard’s arts community as an undergrad, Holden is confident that his events will have an audience. “There are people I’ve met here in Kirkland who write poetry, who are really enthusiastic about it and do it pretty seriously...and I think that there are also a lot of people who don’t necessarily write poetry, but really care about poetry, and want to hear it and talk about it.” Holden hosted the inaugural Poetry Table on Sept. 29 at 6 p.m. in the Kirkland private dining room and plans to continue doing so on alternating Tuesdays.

“The readings are absolutely open. And the table is too,” he invites.