One of the coolest and most profound things anyone ever said to me came courtesy of Yale professor/Stonington-based poet J.D. McClatchy. He'd attended an art auction and became enthralled by a particular drawing. A bidding war ensued and McClatchy, realizing he was up against some Deep Pockets, reluctantly withdrew.

On a subway ride afterwards, he wrote a poem called "Mercury Dressing" based on the image of the drawing. Later, in an interview, McClatchy described the incident to me, saying, "I wrote the poem as if to replace the art with my sonnet. Art sometimes replaces those things that we lose in life."

You're not going to hear stuff like that from the Kardashian sisters.

McClatchy is one of the most esteemed poets in the U.S. and a really nice guy - and on Sunday at the La Grua Center in Stonington, he'll read from a new collection, "Plundered Hearts: New and Selected Poems," which contains highlights from three decades of work.

- RICK KOSTER

J.D. McClatchy, 5 p.m. Sunday, La Grua Center, 32 Water St., Stonington; free; (860) 535-2300, lagruacenter.org.