On Thursday, Ladan Osman, Somali-American poet and teacher, and Donika Kelly, assistant professor of English at St. Bonaventure, read pieces from their poetry collections as part of the university’s Visiting Poets Series.
Approximately 100 students, faculty, staff members and community members gathered in the Loft of the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts to listen Osman and Kelly.
Osman started off the night by reading a few poems from her award-winning collection “The Kitchen-Dweller’s Testimony.”
She said many of her poems are influenced by history, science, music and what goes on in her surroundings.
“I think a lot about embarrassment and overhearing people saying bizarre things,” said Osman. “I tend to bring a journal with me and write these things down. I’m one of those people where strangers tell me things, and I feel responsible for them.”
Kelly believes Osman’s collection is “amazing” and resonates with her personally.
“I think she talks so wonderfully, openly and beautifully about growing up poor, being black, being a woman and being an immigrant,” Kelly said. “The way she writes about it is so bold.”
Osman spoke briefly about what it is like to be an artist in a society in which art isn’t as appreciated as it used to be.
“I am interested in cultivating self-compassion, so I can start to grapple whole heartily with what’s going on and what I can strengthen about my own logic,” said Osman.
Following her reading, she handed over the mic to Kelly. Kelly read poems from her debut collection “Bestiary,” which won the Cave Canem Poetry Prize in 2015.
Many of the poems in her book speak of her personal experiences with love and struggle and also incorporate the theme of mythology.
Kelly and her book were featured in a New York Times article review by David Orr on Feb. 3.
“It was very exciting to be mentioned in a thoughtful review in the Times,” said Kelly. “It was unimaginable to me.”
Kelly’s poems came from what was going on in her life at the time and she wanted them to be authentic, she said.
“I didn’t have an idea ahead of time of what I wanted the book to be, however, I knew I wanted it to be a good piece of art,” said Kelly. “I was more interested in what I seemed to be saying organically, rather than imposing structure.”
Kelly said poetry is an art form that is important and essential for conveying messages to others.
“It is something that’s meant to be more broadly consumed,” said Kelly. “It’s shaped for public consumption. Conversations can be messy. I like the containment of poetry because it gives us boundaries to move around and makes arguments in a more diffusive way.”
What excited Kelly most about this reading was the reception from the staff and faculty with their support for her and Osman.
The Center for Arabic and Islamic Studies, the Visiting Scholar Series, the Damietta Center for Multicultural Student Affairs and the English Department all sponsored the event.
“I think it’s exciting that so many different entities sponsored the event,” said Kelly. “That, to me, feels heartening, especially given recent events that have been happening in our country and around the world.”
Kelly hopes the audience walked away wanting to read more poetry and feeling more informed on different viewpoints.
“I hope it encouraged them to read from writers of different backgrounds,” Kelly said. “It’s always exciting because the work that’s written now speaks to the moment we are living in and how these people make art to respond to how we are.”
A recording of this reading, as well as others of the Visiting Poets Series, will be available for free download on the series’ website, PennSound from the University of Pennsylvania.
engjg14@bonaventure.edu
