By Eileen Oldfield Staff Writer
Sitting in the Hillsborough High School Media Center on April 17, Pulitzer-Prize winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa faced questions ranging from how he writes to what he writes to the importance of reading what he writes all from students in the school’s Advanced Placement Literature Class.
”Reading always takes me back to the importance of the oral tradition,” Mr. Komunyakaa said after the session. “I felt a connection to the students and I think that connection has to do with the importance of poetry. . . poetry is a celebration and a confrontation. It takes poetry out of the realm of abstraction.”
Brought to the school through a Hillsborough Education Foundation grant, English Teacher Shawn Layton wrote Mr. Komunyakaa in September, when preparing to teach his poetry in several classes.
Though only the Advanced Placement students attended the question-and-answer session, approximately 500 students attended an hour-long poetry reading in the school’s auditorium to commemorate National Poetry Month.
”I truly believe he is one of the best poets America has at this time, he is such a great reader with a real presence that I thought would appeal to students with limited exposure to poetry, he teaches nearby at NYU, and his work is varied and accessible,” Mr. Layton said.
Reading poetry from his works “Dien Cai Dau,” “Neon Vernacular,” “Talking Dirty to the Gods,” “Pleasure Dome,” and the title piece from his upcoming work, “Warhorses,” Mr. Komunyakaa held the students completely silent as his words drifted over the crowd.
”It’s (poetry) almost a hidden connective tissue that not everyone’s aware of,” Mr. Komunyakaa said. “Poetry still has the capacity to embrace mystery. I tend to think mystery is what really makes us human. In that sense, it isn’t important what we know, as oppose to what each of us is willing to discover.”
According to Mr. Layton, many teachers prepared their classes for the event by presenting Mr. Komunyakaa’s poetry in addition to the regular curriculum.
While some of the students needed to return to class after the reading and the question-and-answer session, many students remained the entire timeand requested autographs from Mr. Komunyakaa.
”I think many of the students were in awe, at least that’s the feedback I received,” Mr. Layton said. “Too often people are intimidated or just plain afraid of poetry and I think Yusef’s reading helped listeners see the power and beauty of the art form.”
