Philip Levine recently completed his yearlong tenure as the U.S. poet laureate, a position that gave nationwide attention to his affinity with working people. With his writing roots deep within the world of work—and encapsulated in his signature poetry collection, “What Work Is”—Levine gave us all in the union movement the opportunity to engage with the art of poetry and understand more about the role of poet laureate.

When the nation’s Poet Laureate, Philip Levine, gives a reading of his work tomorrow here at the AFL-CIO, he will recite poems that weave a lyrical web of words around his visceral understanding of the world of work. Levine, whom the Library of Congress named Poet Laureate in May, and who has written of his experiences working in Detroit factories in the post-World War II years, finds his verses especially resonate with America’s workers—and that’s in part because his portrayals are so honest. (To attend the event, which begins at 1 p.m. Nov. 15, RSVP here.)