Irish poet Christopher Matthews, author of "A New Life" (Trapdoor Press, 2000) and the just-published "Eyelevel: Fifty Histories" (CavanKerry Press Ltd.), reads from his work at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, in Chase Hall Lounge, Campus Avenue, Bates College. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

Poet Sydney Lea calls Matthew's latest book "so fresh and virtuosic as to seem all but absolutely new in my experience." In "Eyelevel," Matthews uses the voices of a large cast of characters from specific times and places to draw a portrait of the 20th century during times of war and peace.

Born in Donegal, Ireland, Matthews received a bachelor's degree from the University of Ulster and completed a doctoral dissertation about Ezra Pound at the University of Durham. His poetry has been published in various journals, including The American Scholar, Crazyhorse and The Dublin Review. He teaches literature to undergraduates in Lugano, Switzerland.