Welcome to the panel discussion for our Emergence:
the Next Word in Poetry events, and I'm
sorry for standing in front of people.
I'm going to squat.
I just wanted to let people know before we begin
the panel that there's some information
in the back of the room about our classes and workshops.
In two weeks, Charles Alexander is
beginning a class called Circling and Center:
Language Poetry and Its Peripheries.
And Eric Magrane, who's a U of A alum,
is teaching a class called "Eco-Poetry".
So if you're interested in that, you
can grab a flyer in the back.
Our panelists today are, in order,
Andrew Bode-Lang, Sommer Browning, Mia MacDonald,
Loren Goodman, Van Jordan, and Suji Kwock Kim.
The three latter poets are the poets who read last night
and are visiting from out of town.
Others are students in the creative writing
program, both undergraduate and graduate program at U of A.
Today is the anniversary of the White House symposium on poetry
that was boycotted by Sam Hamill started
the Poets Against The War events,
and so Sam has asked people who are having
poetry events around the country to read a poem by either Emily
Dickinson, Langston Hughes, or Walt Whitman,
the poets whom the symposium were supposed to be discussing,
sort of, to honor the events for Poetry Against the War
and to honor the poets who were originally to be discussed
at the White House.
In that spirit I'm going to read one poem by Emily Dickinson
and then turn the panel over to the panelists, who
will each give a five minute statement on new trends
in contemporary poetry.
Then we'll open it up to conversation.
This is Emily Dickinson's poem, "Sixteen".
It's part one.
"To fight aloud is very brave, but gallanter, I know,
who charge within the bosom the Cavalry of Wo, who win
and nations do not see.
Who fall and none observe.
Whose dying eyes no country regards with patriot love.
We trust in plumed procession for such the Angels
go rank after rank with even feet and uniforms of snow."
OK, and Andrew will start the panel
on new trends in contemporary poetry.