A host of accomplished poets will honor Evalyn Pierpoint Gill, a former faculty member at UNCG and founder of International Poetry Review, with a lyrical tribute March 5. Gill died in November at the age of 93.

She will be remembered with a poetry reading at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 5, in Cone Ballroom of Elliott University Center. The event, free and open to the public, is being cosponsored by the UNCG Department of Romance Languages, International Poetry Review and the Friends of the Library.

Gill was a poet, short story writer, translator, editor, publisher and patron of the arts. She was a member of the English faculty at UNCG from 1973-74, founded the International Poetry Review and edited it for 17 years 1975-92. She formed strong ties to the university, serving on the boards of the UNCG Musical Arts Guild, and the Friends of the Library and the Weatherspoon Association, as well as donating the International Poetry Review to UNCG.

“The evening motif will be to echo the nature of the International Poetry Review itself as Evalyn conceived it, that is, a collection of poetic voices from many languages with English translation and also poets who write in English as their native language,” said Dr. Mark Smith-Soto, a UNCG professor of Spanish who is organizing the program.

The line-up will include readings by poets, editors and guest editors of the International Poetry Review. The English language poets will be former N.C. Poet Laureate Fred Chappell, Ann Deagon, Sarah Lindsay and John York. Editors and guest editors of IPR will read from German, Italian, French and Spanish poets [with English translations]. These editors will include Roch Smith, Margo Bender and Mark Smith-Soto.