The endless possibilities of poetry
With a storied literary past, Washington University continues to provide time, place and space to stretch as a poet.
April 9, 2021 SHARE
On any given day, the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis campus offers an opportunity to revel in its rich poetry tradition, if you know where to look.
Places such as east of Olin Library, where an allée of ginkgo trees stands and that once inspired Poet Laureate Howard Nemerov to write “The Consent.”
Or in University Libraries’ Julian Edison Department of Special Collections, where you can find a blue book that displays the scribbles of a young T.S. Eliot.
Photo: Marcus Jackson Co-Founder of CAAPP Dawn Lundy Martin The Center for African American Poetry and Poetics has released its spring lineup of online events, continuing the University of Pittsburgh group s mission of highlighting, promoting, and sharing the poetry and poetic work of African American and African diasporic writers. The events kicked off on March 3 with a conversation on time with Ladan Osman, Demian DinéYazhi´, Aldrin Valdez, and Divya Victor. This collection of poets and visual artists sat in conversation on Wednesday, leading the season of events in a strong way. CAAPP launched in 2016 and has continuously brought unique programming to Pittsburgh since its inception. With events going online, the audience has expanded to a national and even global stage.
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana (2011) and
Ashley’s War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield (2015) in 2016, when a source tipped her off that an all-female militia was advancing the cause of women’s rights in Syria as they battled the Islamic State. Serving with the YPJ, the Kurdish Women’s Protection Units, the women were effective fighters and tacticians, widely respected by the men who served with them; yet, their story was largely unknown beyond the frontlines of the Syrian war. Lemmon is as fearless as her subjects, and her account of researching this story over three years in northern Iraq and northeastern Syria is an education in conflict reporting; her own story, connected to that of these women, makes for an incredibly compelling read.