The Iowa Poetry Prize, awarded annually by the University of Iowa Press, is one of the leading national poetry awards. New and established poets are invited to submit manuscripts for consideration, and only two are selected. Joseph Campana is a poet and Rice University assistant professor of English whose collection Natural Selections was named a 2011 winner.

Natural Selections explores the lush and desolate beauty of middle America, taking inspiration from and engaging with the paintings of Grant Wood. A leader of American Regionalism of the 1930s, Wood developed a unique style for conveying the complexity beneath the surface of apparently simple rural life. Wood's 1941 lithograph March, in the MFAH collection, graces the cover of Natural Selections and becomes the subject matter for Campana's poems.

Join Campana and Emily Ballew Neff, MFAH curator of American painting and sculpture, for an engaging evening of art and poetry inspired by the perseverance of Middle America.

This event is open to the public. Admission is free, but space is limited.

Campana will sign copies of "Natural Selections" (University of Iowa Press, 2012) during the reception following the program. The reception is generously supported by the MFAH patron group American Art and Wine. For more information, please contact Emily Klim at eklim@mfah.org or 713.639.7594.