Author of 30 books, NIU English Professor Lucien Stryk will present a reading of his new poems Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. in the Chandelier Room of Adams Hall.

Stryk said the topics of the poems will be diverse. The collapse of the stock market and its impact will be the theme of one of his poems, he said. Stryk used the bleakness of New York, which he felt while traveling in the subway the day of the stock market crash, as the source of this poem.

The forum, sponsored by NIU’s University Honors Program, is open to the public at no charge.

Although he considers himself an independent poet free from any particular school of thought, Stryk often writes about Asian thought and Buddhist philosophy. His book, “The World of Buddha,” deals with the Buddhist literature.

In “The Penguin Book of Zen Poetry” Stryk translated the work of Japanese poets. Zen is the meditational aspect of Buddhism, he said.

“Bells of Lombardy,” which is published by the NIU Press, is the most recent of Stryk’s poetical works. He also edited the two editions of “Heartland,” which include the works of Midwestern poets.

University Honors program Director Joseph Gastiger said Stryk’s poetical works have drawn the attention of readers in this country and in Britain, Sweden, Italy and Japan.