Collegian T he Cameron University
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Monday, October 4, 2021
Volume 105 Issue 2
KEN HADA Cameron Visiting Writer
By Brittney Payette At 7 p.m., on Sept. 17, in the Buddy Green Room in the MCC, the first writer of the Visiting Writers Series of Fall 2021 took place with award-winning author Ken Hada. Hada is a poet and a professor at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. He has received the Glenda Carlile Distinguished Service Award, the 2017 South Central Modern Language Association (SCMLA) Poetry Prize, and the Western Heritage Award. Hada said that he spent a lot of his time during the pandemic writing poetry. “I was fortunate because I have some acreage, and I basically stayed out in the middle of nowhere,” Hada said. “I wrote a lot more than I thought I was writing actually.” Hada read several poems including “Testimony,” “Sliver of Moon,” “Chicory in the Ditches,” “The Uneven Landscape of Love,” “Streaking in Bible Camp,” and “Genesis 1 and 2.” Hada recently signed a contract allowing his poem "Chicory in the Ditches" to be set to music. The poem “Chicory in the Ditches” is from his book “Sunlight & Cedar (2020)”: “When first light calms blue-swept night / and cool dawn erases / yesterday’s heat. // Morning reminds us that night / is a fragment, and summer / swelter is brief.” Hada writes poetry about a multitude of topics including his family, nature and his experiences in life. Hada said that he is very sensitive to nature because he grew up in rural Oklahoma. “I write a lot of nature works,” Hada said. “Nature is beautiful, but it’s vicious as well.” before reading from his poem “Skeleton.” Hada said that he tries to get an idea of what his audience likes when he goes to events like the one at CU. “Whenever I see a new audience, I’ve got to figure out you guys,” Hada said. “are you pessimists, or are you optimists?” Hada attests to his writing experience, citing writer’s block as a main issue. “Writer’s block is a psychological thing,” Hada said. “It can really start to mess with
your head after a while if you let it.” Additionally, Hada said he revises and changes parts of his poems when he performs them at events. “Everything I put in a book I wish I had performed it first,” Hada said. “I try to edit and compose orally to hear. I think that’s very important, not just to put it on paper — but to hear it.” Hada said that after the poems are written, they become a “photo album” and take on a life of their own. “Once it’s published or something,” Hada said, “it’s not yours anymore. You have no control of what happens to it. It’s kind of cool when people give you feedback, usually.” Hada said that the text must come first, since, if the words on the page are not well written, then it does not matter how well it is performed or read, it will all fall through. “The audience knows when you’re honest,” Hada said. “If it’s true to what you think it ought to be, the audience gets that. They respect that.” CU Freshman Lisa Lee said she liked how Hada illustrated his poems in a vivid way. “The way that he described some of his poems,” Lee said. “It’s almost like you can see, like he’s trying to paint a picture. I liked
it. I love poetry.” Attendee Robert Chisholm said that he also enjoyed the event, and that he wishes more people would show up to events. “It’s really nice,” Chisholm said. “I love nerdy things. Besides, there’s not much else better to do on a Friday night in Lawton.” Hada’s newest poetry book “Contour Feathers” is set to be released in October 2021. To learn more or to purchase any of Hada’s books, go to his website at https://kenhada.org/.
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