Livewell’s collection of poetry, bearing the 17^th century name for Kensington, has been awarded the 2012 T.S. Eliot Prize by Missouri’s Truman State University, which will publish the book in September.  The poems in Shackamaxon, true to the historic name of the manuscript, feature memories of the poet’s childhood on Master Street and other scenes of city life.

Livewell, an editor of medical journals, is formerly of the Kensington area of Philadelphia and currently lives in West Deptford, New Jersey.  He is a graduate of Northeast Catholic High School and LaSalle University.  He credits his teachers at both schools for their influence on his interest in writing about the city neighborhoods that he saw changing in the 1970s and 1980s.  His re-creation of familiar scenes captures the attention of Philadelphians and others who have lived among row homes and urban situations.

The event is open to the public, free of charge.  For further information, contact Sister Marie Hubert Kealy at 610-647-4400, ext. 3720 or email at mkealy@immaculata.edu.

Immaculata University is a residential, Catholic, coeducational institution of higher education, located on the Main Line between Malvern and Exton, 20 miles west of Philadelphia.