By Jack Wynn

Students shared personal and professional poems in various languages on Tuesday at an open mic poetry night in St. Mary’s Hall, home to the Language House Living Learning program, as part of the University of Maryland’s School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures (SLLC) poetry week.

In a partnership between the Language House and the Jiménez-Porter Writers’ House, students from different academic backgrounds gathered to share the poems that meant the most to them, regardless of the language it was written in, to an audience of about two dozen.

“It helps [students] connect with other cultures, poetry and art from other countries,” said Dr. Marilyn Matar, director of the Language House, who stressed “culture immersion” as a goal of the LLP. “It’s going to be a great exposure for the community to hear poems that are from other authors, but also from other students or faculty.”

The event served as a prelude to the upcoming Poetry in Conversation event on Thursday, Sept. 19, honoring Lauretta Clough (M.A. ’89, Ph.D. ’98), who died in 2023 after a 25-year, award-winning career with the SLLC. Matar described Clough, her late colleague, as a “great poetry lover” and commemorated her at the beginning of the event. 

Sophomore government and politics major Riley Devine was one of several students who spoke in French, reading “Demain dès l’aube,” an 1856 poem by Victor Hugo. 

“It’s very somber, though his career was very successful. It’s about visiting his daughter’s grave and leaving her flowers,” Devine said. “When I first read it, I was just so relieved. I figured I’d share it.”

Some students, including junior English major Ebou Dibba, decided to share poems they had written themselves. Dibba was the only student to read twice, each time out of his own parchment-colored notebook.

Dibba said he started writing poetry after high school, enjoying the outlet it provided.

At the end of the event, four students were awarded prizes, such as poetry related board games. Participants were evaluated in various categories, including the delivery and explanations of their poems, with all feedback meant to be positive and uplifting. 

“It’s like going through New York and eating pizza!” said Ross Angelella, director of the Writers’ House, who participated as a judge. “They were all so good, and you’re really kind of splitting hairs. You’re really [asking] ‘Who were your standouts?’”

Angelella works with various departments and organizations on campus to give Writers’ House students opportunities to network and learn more about the world of writing.

Most poems that were shared involved deep topics such as love and loss, as each student attempted to express the meaning behind their chosen text.

“Poetry is a pretty good, not only mental exercise, but a way of empathy and understanding,” said freshman technology and information design major Jamie Thurmond. “It’s a medium that can put such extreme and interesting ideas into such a tiny or long form.”

Featured image by Jack Wynn, September 17, 2024.