Professor of English Tony Barnstone will make it a family affair with his father Willis Barnstone and his sister Aliki Barnstone at the Rothko Chapel, a non-denominational chapel in Houston that features works by the American abstract artist Mark Rothko. The three poets will participate in the organization’s “Concept of Divine,” where each one will read from their collection of work, examine their own personal concept of a higher power, and engage in conversation with each other and the audience. Barnstone’s uncle Howard Barnstone was one of the architects who designed the Rothko Chapel.
"Willis, Aliki and Tony are each acclaimed and evocative poets in their own right - with a rich family history with the Rothko Chapel," the nonprofit's executive director David Leslie told the Houston Chronicle. "Poetry offers a window to the holy that sometimes dialogue cannot, reflecting essential human truths in such an artful form. We are lucky to have the Barnstone family as our guides for this event."
Not only is the Barnstone family connected to the chapel, but to Mark Rothko himself. Willis Barnstone visited the artist in his New York studio where he showed him his collection of works for the chapel just before they were shipped to Houston.
The event will take place on Tuesday, February 21, at the Rothko Chapel in Houston.
