David Lehman is a poet, literary critic, editor of the Oxford Book of American Poetry, and creator of the Best American Poetry series. Lee Upton praises Lehman's volume, Playlist, in these terms: “What a gorgeous and ambitious poem … an elegy, a calendar, an enactment of beauty, a tribute to singers and musicians and those who love them, a musical compilation, a meditation on friendship and art.” Lehman's honors include fellowships from the NEA and the Guggenheim Foundation. This series of readings is organized and hosted by Stephen Yenser, poet and professor at UCLA.