In a night of spoken word, Boston University students and notable Boston residents shared their favorite poems, which included themes of mythology, cultural heritage and sexism.
Ninety members of the BU community attended the reading, which was hosted by the Favorite Poem Project and the BU Arts Initiative on Monday night at the Tsai Performance Center. “A Celebration of Voices: Favorite Poem Reading,” featured 15 presenters including shoe designer Stuart Weitzman, local Boston chef Barbara Lynch, and several BU students and faculty members.
Robert Pinsky, 39th U.S. poet laureate and founder of the Favorite Poem Project at BU, said the group collaborated with the BU Arts Initiative to showcase the diverse array of speakers.
“We aimed for a variety of age, of poems and we wanted to have a high literary level while also including many different kinds of writing and kinds of person,” Pinsky said after the reading.
Pinsky also said the purpose of the event was to “celebrate two important things: the fundamental, basic nature of the art of poetry and secondly, because the art of poetry is on a human scale, its importance in our democracy.”
Sarah Collins, assistant director of the BU Arts Initiative, said the reading was organized to celebrate 20 years of BU’s Favorite Poem Project and five years of the BU Arts Initiative.
Collins also said it was intended to engage students who wouldn’t normally attend literary events.
“It’s also a great way to engage the student population and get the students who aren’t necessarily into poetry or aren’t necessarily into literature … excited about this kind of thing, because all these awesome people are going to be on campus sharing their love for something,” Collins said before the reading.
University Provost Jean Morrison, who recited a poem by Robert Hayden called “Those Winter Sundays,” said she was excited to be asked to participate in the reading.
“It’s just a beautiful way to celebrate poetry,” Morrison said before the reading. “I’ve had just the most wonderful time, thinking about, reading and enjoying living within my little poem for a week.”
Morrison also described the reading as a “smart and creative way to engage more people in poetry and share the communication that is possible through poetry.”
During the reading, Ann Cudd, College of Arts and Sciences dean, said she chose to read “The Death of Myth-Making” by Sylvia Plath because it reminds her that “you shouldn’t spend your whole life focused on reason at the expense of the mythical and fantastical.”
Cudd said she was glad the organizers were able to bring the arts to the people in a democratic way.
“[The event] shows that the arts, creative writing, belongs in everyone’s life and that everyone really enjoys it,” Cudd said before the reading. “I think what it brings to BU is the message of bringing the arts to the people, and that’s a good message.”
Claudia Pascual, a College of Communication senior, said she chose to recite “A Julia de Burgos,” by Julia de Burgos, not only to honor the poet’s Puerto Rican heritage but also because the poem, which was written in the 1930s, communicates themes of sexism in society that are still prevalent today.
“I’m also Puerto Rican, and I wanted to give voice to a Puerto Rican,” Pascual said. “It’s a feminist poem, and it’s impressive how it’s still relevant as presenting women’s struggle in society of who they are expected to be versus who they are. Women were expected to be ladylike and mannerly and even today, be confined to structures and gender roles.”
Several audience members said they enjoyed the reading and the diversity among the community members who presented their favorite poems.
Sonya McCree, a CAS senior, said she liked hearing about the presenters’ personal connections to the poems they chose to share.
“I thought it was really inspiring, since I love poetry, and I’m always looking for new types of poetry and different authors,” McCree said. “I thought it was really nice to hear all the different types of poems that people found moving to them.”
Pamela Taylor, 45, of Brookline, said she appreciated the variety of presenters at the event.
“There were very few poets on the panel, and it was just regular people reading the poems that touched them,” Taylor said. “Everybody brought something different — a different poem, a different perspective. There was a poem that inspired me to start writing which is the essence of poetry.”
Taylor added that the event was a great way for BU to connect with the greater Boston community.
“[The event] connects BU to the larger community by combining different people to speak,” Taylor added. “You can see BU sort of being a hub of bringing the community together.”
Charmaine Yue, a CAS junior, described the reading as a “once in a lifetime experience just having all these readers here together for one night, sharing their favorite poetry.”
Yue also said she enjoyed the event because it illuminated the genre of poetry, an art form she said she feels is often ignored.
“It’s definitely not something that a lot of colleges can offer,” Yue said. “It provides an outlet not only to poets and readers but an introduction to an art form most people don’t see or hear.”
Just to clarify, there were over 200 audience members.
Great job well written