Poetry
Harvard Sophomore Chosen as First Youth Poet Laureate
A sophomore in Leverett House and Los Angeles, Calif. native, Amanda Gorman ’20 was named the nation’s premier young poet in April.
What Moves You?
"I want to hold [time] in my arms and tell it thank you/I’m done progressing through life/I want my soul to move through moments and decide their worth for myself," recited Anna K. Antongiorgi '19 during ‘What Moves You?’ a Harvard Dance Project performance combining dance, music, and poetry on Friday evening. The cast worked with choreographers to translate answers to the question ‘What moves you?’ into movement.
According to Kwan
Chinese-Singaporean multimedia artist Bex H. Kwan ‘14 performs Spoken Word at Holden Chapel Thursday evening. As a student, Kwan received the Outstanding Student Leader Award by the Office of BGLTQ Student Life.
A Readable Feast
The Harvard English Department shares their favorite succulent meals in literature.
Harmony Holiday in Houghton
Poet Harmony Holiday reads a selection from her 2014 work Go Find Your Father/A Famous Blues in the Edison Newman room of Houghton Library Wednesday night. The reading and book signing event was the second of a free and public series called The Poet’s Voice.
'Empty Chairs' Full of Feeling
Liu Xia has seen her husband and her brother repeatedly arrested, jailed, and imprisoned, for likely politically-motivated reasons, and has herself been placed under house arrest and constant surveillance. It is no wonder that Kafka is a recurring figure in her poetry.
Poetry at Rally
Bystanders listen as Kimiko M. Matsuda-Lawrence ‘16 and Jenny A. Gathright ‘16 perform a spoken-word poetry piece about their experiences as black women at Harvard. Students performed and demonstrated at the Science Center Plaza before joining Tufts at Porter Square.
Coordinates: Radcliffe Yard
Early Wednesday afternoon, I trudged wearily from Sever Hall to Radcliffe Yard. I did not make this journey voluntarily—if it were up to me, I’d spend my afternoon napping. But FM sent me out to investigate this mysterious site, and I took up the gauntlet.
‘Sentences and Rain’ A Celebration of the Pleasures of Language
Equi takes her play and her poetry seriously, hitching her humor and wit to beauty and insight. She is a poet of an incredible dynamic range, and her poems range from lighthearted to serious, sometimes several modes being activated in a single poem.
Kevin Holden
Kevin Holden '05, who just finished his PhD in comparative literature at Yale, is Kirkland's Poet in Residence for the 2015-2016 school year. Holden, who was involved in poetry during his time on campus with the Advocate and Gamut magazines, plans to hold bi-weekly poetry tables in Kirkland's Private Dining Room as well as hold two or three formal readings each semester.
Celestial Open Mic
Jessica Jin ’18 showcases her writing at Celestial Open Mic, a spoken word performance hosted by student groups Speak Out Loud and STAHR in the Science Center Observatory. More than one hundred students attended the event on Friday night.
Lowell Holds Annual May Day Poetry Reading
On May 1, the Lowell House Poemical Society held its annual May Day Poetry Reading in Lowell’s Senior Common Room. With recitations ranging from Sanskrit verse to e.e. cummings, from Keats to student compositions, the reading formed a part of Lowell's traditional May Day celebrations.
Collaborative Poetry
Matthew Battles talks about similarities in poetic style between works of different epochs as part of "re-verse: A Participatory Evening of Poetry." The event engaged with the metaLAB @ Harvard, an interdisciplinary teaching unit, and was part of the week-long Harvard LITFest.
Poetry Reading
Mary Dalton, a Canadian poet, reads various poetry selections from her body of work in front of an audience at Fong Auditorium in Boylston Hall on Tuesday evening.
Music and Mural
Musician Ashford L. King '15 performs for crowds on the Science Center Plaza on Tuesday afternoon. The performance was a part of the Mural Speaks project, aimed at translating a poem into 140 languages.
Don McKay
Celebrated Canadian poet Don McKay, responds to an audience question and speaks about John Keats and other poets whose work have influenced him in the past. The Tuesday discussion was hosted jointly by the Canada Program, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and the Department of English.
Don McKay Closeup
Celebrated Canadian poet Don McKay, responds to an audience question and speaks about John Keats and other poets whose work have influenced him in the past. The Tuesday discussion was hosted jointly by the Canada Program, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and the Department of English.
'Nothing to Declare'
This powerful, sophisticated, and complex collection, with its expansive range of subjects, varied range of styles—from lyrically thick poems with long lines to thinner, more sparing poems— is an intoxicating and illuminating read.