The lectureship will be named for Stratis Haviaras, curator of the Poetry and Farnsworth Rooms in the Harvard College Library, who is due to retire in the spring of 2000.

According to English Department Chair Lawrence Buell, the gift will allow the Department to invite either a poet who will give a reading of his or her works or a critic who will lecture on some aspect of contemporary poetry.

"This gift gives us the much needed opportunity to strengthen the presence of creative writing at Harvard, which we recognize we don't offer in courses as much as we would like to be able to do," Buell said.

He added that the English Department "very much appreciated the donor's munificence," particularly because it allowed Haviaras' colleagues to "express their affection for him and to recognize the work he's done over the years to create a space for the arts and poetry in particular. It's one of the key ways Harvard has managed to stay on the map in that respect."