Saturday at Coffee Fusion & Tea
All day Saturday, March 29, things will be happening at Coffee Fusion and Tea (downtown in the old Ogilvies/Dwyco building).
Starting at 1 p.m. the coffee shop hosts an art exhibit sponsored by Kent State East Liverpool and Salem students. Stop by for coffee, get some visual stimulation, and chat with our local artists and their teachers.
At 5:30 p.m. the KSU East Liverpool Diversity Committee is holding a open-mike poetry reading as part of Women’s Poetry Month. Read some of your favorite poems by women, bring in your own compositions, or just come to listen.
The way I understand it, once the women's poetry reading is finished, the open mike will continue through the evening. So if you've got something to say, bring it on! Now is the time to share your light.
Starting at 1 p.m. the coffee shop hosts an art exhibit sponsored by Kent State East Liverpool and Salem students. Stop by for coffee, get some visual stimulation, and chat with our local artists and their teachers.
At 5:30 p.m. the KSU East Liverpool Diversity Committee is holding a open-mike poetry reading as part of Women’s Poetry Month. Read some of your favorite poems by women, bring in your own compositions, or just come to listen.
The way I understand it, once the women's poetry reading is finished, the open mike will continue through the evening. So if you've got something to say, bring it on! Now is the time to share your light.
posted by M. | 9:11 AM
10 Comments:
Matt,
Women's poetry...Why do I get the feeling that the only way organizers think they can attract people to such events is to label them as accommodating to a "specific" group?
I realize it's Women's Poetry Month (whatever the hell that is), but why not just a poetry reading that includes all genders, creeds and human shapes?
Is there such a thing as Men's Poetry Month, or would women poets big and small throw some maternal tizzy that they are being excluded?
I'm just glad there is an open reading at the end where people can, as Matt said, say what they need to say. Personally, I'd read from Fernando Pessoa, one of my personal favorites, or maybe even Pablo Neruda, that Chilean dude who can out-metaphor any woman concerning love and crying and flowers and screwing any day.
Christ, who are some of my favorite women poets? Mmm, there's Sylvia, of course (any woman who puts her head in the oven is after my own heart); there's Emily (although I respect her as an alien being, I can't say much for the poetry).
Maybe I just don't know of many women poets to make a proper point, though I did take a women's fiction course or some such thing year's back, but the name's have fallen from me.
In any event, if someone at the reading sticks their head in an oven, let me know about it. Maybe I'll write a poem about it.
Would the "diversity" committee be "tolerant" of conservative points of view? What if a GUY got up and wanted to recite some poetry?
Would the diversity committee allow a session to celebrate white European history?
What if we initiated a "White History Month?" How about a "white college" as Grambling is a "black college?"
What if we started a "White Pride Day" to celebrate our culture as blacks do on Martin Luther King Day?
How about a TV station named WET (White Entertainment Television)?
Just asking....
If you need some help before 1:00 PM.
Try this link:
http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/Poem/
Good luck with your event.
Sparky Miller
Matt, I agree with some of the others. Setting up something like a 'women only' poetry reading is no different than having a KKK rally. It's all about hate but the hate is aimed at different groups.
ELO Native: I think black history month was established because African Americans had their culture and history stolen from them through slavery and Jim Crow. It was decided that it would be a good idea to establish a month to celebrate all the good in black culture. Grambling and other black colleges were established because the state institutions of higher learning were segregated in the south. BET doesn't hurt my feelings. There are plenty of all-white stations to watch, how about EWTN or TCM?
I think the diversity committee would allow a white male to speak at the poetry reading. However, I don't think very many people would agree with your poetry. Your views as expressed on here are antiquated. As long as you breath, your "white history day" is a reality....just don't expect it to be a government holiday!
Here's a history lesson for you: blacks enslaved themselves in Africa for centuries, long before the whites showed up. Perhaps we learned it from them.
I think it's ok if people celebrate women's poetry. I participate in Diversity Committee activities at the E.L. Campus regularly. Trust me when I tell you that "diversity" means more than most people are willing to believe.
For example, the East Liverpool Campus is currently sponsoring a series of public lectures/discussion on the world's major religions. It's very interesting stuff and the discussions are well attended.
Like any serious institution of learning, KSU-EL professors, students, and staff are directly involved in promoting an intellectual and cultural life in the community. Most importantly, we understand that disagreement on important issues is a vital part of that process.
So the answer is a resounding "YES!" Anyone--male, female, gay, hetero, Muslim, Jew, Christian, atheist, black, white, red, brown or yellow--is encouraged and welcome to take part in any of the diversity committee events. Simply assuming you're not welcome doesn't make it true.
Jeff M: I wouldn't know. I wasn't there. I didn't know you moved away and became a history teacher. Congratulations!
No one has mentioned how this Saturday event came out. I didn't think there'd be a big write up in the paper, but someone who was there might have mentioned something. Surely Matt was in attendance.
Much of the afternoon we spent at the art show, which was very well attended. I enjoyed meeting the artists, some of whom were my students. Jeremy Lydic from The Review wrote a good story on it.
We went to Robinson and didn't make it back for the poetry reading in the evening. But I spoke today with an Eastern Flash reporter (who doesn't like poetry), and she said it was a great success.
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