Writers series brings poetry and controversy
By Manny Casillas | Editorial Assistant
The University of Indianapolis welcomed two distinct wordsmiths to campus last week, and both guests offered well-received readings.
As part of UIndy’s Kellogg Writers Series, poet Kevin Young and essayist Richard Rodriguez made separate appearances at the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center.
Young is a prolific poet from Lincoln, Neb. He has sampled America from many parts of the map, though, including Louisiana, Kansas and Indiana. Young read to a large audience, one that included local poet Mari Evans.
Young’s poetry is a smooth blend of musicality and humor, greatly inspired by the blues. His reading selections included tender odes to things like gumbo and chicken, as well as poems centered on musical figures like Johnny Cash and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
“It was great to come and read and see all the young people out there,” Young said.
With poem titles such as “Flash-Flood Blues” and “Hang-Dog Blues,” the prominent role music plays in Young’s poetry was obvious. As he demonstrated in a poem called “Burial,” he’s not opposed to incorporating popular song titles (Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry’” for instance) or even lyrics, as evident when he spoke the tune of the classic “A Change Is Gonna Come.”
‘The music of a poem makes a large part of its meaning and that it can lead the way through even tough terrain,” Young explained.
The following Saturday, essayist Richard Rodriguez of PBS’ s NewsHour visited campus to a modest but attentive crowd. His visit was also part of the Indianapolis Spirit and Place Festival.
Rodriguez has been a figure of some controversy, something he readily admits. His last visit to Indiana was at Indiana University, where Latino students protested his appearance.
Rodriguez’ message was one of racial open-mindedness, particularly for those who consider themselves as part of an ethnic minority. He addressed the issue of illegal immigration and the over-all disengagement Americans have with the rest of the world.
His lecture was biting, funny, thought-provoking and not without its moments of tenseness, but a message that gave the audience something to chew on.
The Kellogg Writer Series has continued to be a success for the university with appearances from distinguished writers like Young and Rodriguez, something that Jennifer Drake, director of the series, sees as immensely positive.
“I think it’s working really well, I think we’d like to develop more of a collaborative relationship with the Writers Center of Indiana, and as we’re working to revise the English major right now and add a track in creative writing,” Drake said. “We’d like to open up internship possibilities in the writers series to students.”
The Kellogg Writers Series was begun many years ago by former faculty Allan and Helen Kellogg and since then has attracted a number of diverse and distinguished writers, poets and other artists. Earlier this semester, writer Diane Glancy gave a reading.
The series continues into next semester with upcoming appearances from Brock Clarke, fiction writer and essayist, on Feb. 5 and Leslie Heywood, author of many books on women and culture, on April 2.
