The Roethke Reading is a Seattle institution in which the UW brings in contemporary poets of note to read and talk with students. To celebrate this 50th (!!?!!) Roethke Reading, the UW invited Kay Ryan. Ryan is one of those poets—beautiful, capable of dropping gut-punchingly magnificent phrases in every line—who deserves every ounce of fame she’s received. And her legend keeps growing: She’s been a MacArthur Fellow and the US poet laureate, and she is frequently published in the New Yorker. This should be the kind of event that happens only twice a century. (Kane Hall, Room 130, UW Campus, depts.washington.edu/engl/events/roethke.php, 8 pm, free)