November 8, 2009 (New York, NY), 4pm. It’s official. Tennessee Williams induction into The Poets Corner took place today in upper Manhattan at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine during a Choral Evensong service. The Very Reverend Dr. James A. Kowalski, Dean, and The Reverend Canon Thomas Miller, Canon for Liturgy and the Arts conducted the Choral Evensong service. The service wove music drawn on spirituals, jazz, blues and swing which influenced Williams, readings of his poetry, and remarks by Poet-in-Residence Charles Martin and The Very Reverend Dr. James A. Kowalski, Dean. The Evensong service concluded with a procession to The Poets Corner where Tennessee Williams’ stone had already been placed. The choir sang an anthem, Reverend Kowalski made a prayer of dedication, and we were left to reflect on the life of Tennessee Williams.
The inscription on Williams’ stone reads: “Tennessee Williams, 1911-1983, Time is the longest distance between two places.”
