Wright State’s English Department, is partnering with the Department of Modern Languages, Department of Music, the Women’s Center, LEAP Intensive English Program and Books & Co. at the Greene, to host numerous events across the university and community focusing on the nation’s love for poetry.
National Poetry Month has been celebrated since 1996. The Academy of American Poets, booksellers, librarians and teachers collaborated to decide how and when to celebrate poetry.
“The purpose is to reawaken us to the importance of poetry in our everyday lives and to encourage appreciation and upstanding of the art of poetry, our national heritage of poetry and of poets living and dead,” Chairperson of the Department of English Language and Literatures Carol Loranger said.
Wright State is celebrating earlier since “spring semester ends a bit early this year, we have backed our celebration into March a bit- with the assistance of the Women’s Center and Women’s Studies Program which have opted to include poetry in their March Women’s History Month events,” Loranger said.
The core events include; Favorite Poem Fridays, where students, faculty and staff from different disciplines offer lunchtime readings of their favorite poems, Wright State Poets and Friends at Books & Co. and a Poetry Month Concert, which features performances by the music department faculty and students. There are also poetry readings, poetry writing workshops and public lectures on poetry given by other departments throughout the year.
“We, in English, try to shake it up each year and we are thrilled that so many other groups are joining in to celebrate poetry as well,” Loranger said.
Each of the Favorite Poem Fridays ends with a half hour open mike so attendees can share a favorite poem.
“I love lots of poetry, of course,” Loranger said. “I’m very fond, though, of American poets Edna St. Vincent Millay and William Carlos Williams. And no Ohio lover of poetry should omit Paul Laurence Dunbar from their list of favorite poets.”
For more information contact Carol Loranger at carol.loranger@wright.edu.
