Nov. 14, 2017
ThePRAIRIE
Vol. 101 Iss. 3
DLS brings Guggenheim Fellow poet to WTAMU campus Getting major, revered talents to little Canyon, Texas may seem like a tough sell, but West Texas A&M University manages to do it every year. Nov. 2 followed suit when a full Fine Arts Center Recital Hall crowd had the honor of welcoming Denise Duhamel, an award-winning poet and Guggenheim Fellow, for a poetry reading. “One of the reasons that we’re putting together the poetry project for the campus is to highlight another artistic opportunity that exists in the panhandle that I feel is just a little underrepresented sometimes,” assistant. professor of English Eric Meljac, Ph.D said. “We have a vibrant music program. We have a vibrant visual arts program. We have all these vibrant programs and one thing that we were kind of lacking was the poetic arts. Starting last year, we’re bringing these poets in to showcase the literary arts in
a more foregrounded kind of way.” When picking this year’s poet, Meljac said it seemed right to bring in a unique female voice. Coming thanks to a recommendation, Duhammel seemed like a natural choice. “Duhammel’s poetry was raw,” Meljac said. “It’s funny. It’s edgy. It’s all of these things, and I think there was a place here for her.” After sharing some of her poems that tackle a diverse group of themes such as poverty, planet preservation and Alzheimer’s disease, many students felt that her poetry was relatable and enjoyable. “I thoroughly enjoyed Duhamel’s performance,” sophomore English education major Rose Ehrhart said. “Her creativity is inspiring for me as a writer. Each poem had her distinct personality imprinted on it, but it seemed to resonate with how anyone might feel. I think sharing words and ideas with others through poetry must be exactly what she was meant to do.” Duhammel said she still has
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Meljac has kept in to use an artistic poetry throughout his process. academic career. “I just think “I thought why not having a lot of share my love with the writing and then university?” Meljac just picking out said. “I decided to what you want start bringing in is easier than poets, and I’m going sitting there to try to do this waiting for the every year. Dr. Tyree best thought from the history to pop in your department and I are head.” putting together a Some advice project that we hope that she relayed to get off the ground the next day at a called the High smaller writing Plains Poetry Project, workshop for which is to make this the gender a sustainable, yearly studies program event where we bring was that getting Allie Smith/The Prairie a major poet in.” the first couple Denise Duhamel speaks during a Distingued Overall, Duhammel words onto the Lecture Series on Nov. 2 at the FAC Recital said that it was page can be the Hall. important to grow most daunting from scratch. It kind of just one’s knowledge of part. looks like death or a void or “If you are really serious something like that. I don’t language in order to be a and you want to sit down like a blank page. Just write well-rounded writer. “I know you think you are and write a poem, never something on it.” start with a blank page,” Meljac said that it was supposed to be writing, and Duhammel said. “It’s too important for WT students you should be writing every terrifying. Even if you just to learn lessons like these day, but you’ve got to read open up a book of poetry and that he hoped students a lot. Read contemporary and take a line and just write would be inspired by poetry even if you’re not from that. You’ll probably seeing talent of her caliber sure that you like it exactly get rid of it at the end but on campus. This speaker because I think that’s the you’re never just starting comes thanks to the interest only way to get better.”
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