News Releases

GRANTHAM, Pa. (Oct. 7, 2009) — Former chairman for the National Endowment of the Arts and internationally acclaimed poet Dana Gioia will speak at Messiah College on Oct. 28. Gioia will speak on the role of the arts in a democratic society. The lecture, sponsored by the college honors program, begins at 7:30 p.m. and will take place in Hostetter Chapel located on the college’s Grantham campus.

Gioia holds degrees from Harvard and Stanford Universities and has published three full-length poetry collections and several shorter poetry books. Gioia’s collection, “Interrogations at Noon,” won the 2002 “American Book Award” and his 1991 collection “Can Poetry Matter?” is credited with helping to revive the role of poetry in American culture. In addition, Gioia has written libretti for two operas and is a translator of Latin, Italian and German poetry.

Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls 2,800 undergraduate students in 55 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.