On Wednesday November 8th, members of the College in the Schools: Introduction to Literature class attended a field trip at the University of Minnesota where they met Ada Limón, who is the Poet Laureate of the United States. Students were able to hear some of her poems and ask her any questions they had.
BSM was one of the many schools that attended this event. Senior Brooklyn Miller attended the talk and learned a lot, not just from Limón but also from professors from the University of Minnesota. “We all went into one room where we all sat down and then some U of M [professors] gave an introduction and taught us about Ada Limón and talking about poetry in general,” Miller said.
Miller and her classmates were able to hear some of Limón’s poems. Being the poet laureate, it was a great honor for these students to hear from her and have the opportunity to ask her questions. “She read through a lot of her poems, I think about 12 of her poems, and the main focus was the Hurting Kind, which is a book of her poems,” Miller said.
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Senior Matthew Litchy also attended the event. Not only did he and others learn from Limón about her poetry, they also got insight on possible majors in college. “We had questions that were answered and helped us figure out if we want to major in English in college,” Litchy said.
Students were able to learn many tips and tricks from Limón. “We learned that the way she read poems just made it easier to understand. There are different ways to read poems and it was easier to understand,” Litchy said.
In addition to Limón’s reading, there was also an opportunity to hear student poetry based on the results of a poetry competition. “They also had three winners, who submitted poems that were able to present and read their poems to everyone,” Miller said.
CIS teacher Tiffany Joseph was excited for her students to attend so that they could listen to and not just read about poetry. “Hearing poetry is a different experience than reading it, and I am grateful that my students had that opportunity. It was nice to attend an event where we celebrated language and the way in which poetry can allow us to be more present in our lives,” Joseph said.
Although the event’s focus was on poetry, students also had fun just being on the University of Minnesota campus. “I really enjoyed getting Starbucks and Chick-fil-A to eat and seeing just the student life around at the U of M,” Miller said.