At 6 p.m. on Nov. 14, a group of students, professors and community members gathered in McClung Tower to read poetry.
After seeing the protest on campus on Nov. 10, Erin Elizabeth Smith, UT’s Jack E. Reese Writer-in-Residence, collaborated with the Creative Writing Club to plan the Vol-Means-All Open Mic, a poetry reading that gave students and community members a time and space to respond to current events through the healing power of poetry. Specifically, the poems dealt in large part with the election, with most of the poems promoting a united front against hateful rhetoric and actions.
Smith said the purpose of the event was to give people a chance to have their voices heard and for people to use writing to process their emotions.
“I think it is important right now for people to just hear poetry,” Smith said. “Literature and being an English major is, in some ways, about learning empathy.”
To begin this event, Smith recited the poem “What Kind of Times Are These” by Adrienne Rich and called those in attendance to remember that poetry is meant to be used “for empathy and resistance.”
Eighteen people, including Marilyn Kallet and Joy Harjo, both of whom teach creative writing at UT, read either their own poems or a poem that spoke to them.
Harjo introduced her poem by reading the poem that inspired it, Audre Lorde’s “A Litany for Survival.” She then said to the crowd, “We cannot go forward with fear. We must go forward with compassion.”
Following this theme, the majority of readers focused on moving forward and continuing to promote harmony and love. Particularly, the readers made a point to call out the divisiveness of the past election and urged the listeners to avoid judging others and, instead, focus on trying to understand one another.
When asked what poetry could give people that everyday conversation could not, Smith said, “Poetry gives scaffolding. When you write something it becomes an object, rather than something ephemeral like a conversation. It’s about creating something new.”
The poetry ranged from tear-jerking to heartfelt to humorous, each with a personal touch. Yet at the same time, they all contained a universal theme that united the audience and each reader was applauded as they shared their work and reactions.
The event ended with advice from Smith to all those who attended, “Keep writing, keep fighting and most importantly remember that you are not alone.”
