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Acclaimed Poet Visits
By Chiara Cafiero, courtesy of Kent News |
Kent was visited by acclaimed poet David Yezzi, editor of the highly regarded The New Criterion. Mr. Yezzi gave a chapel talk, participated in several English classes, and delivered an evening poetry reading in the Headmaster’s Study, after which Mr. Hinman remarked “This has been one of the best nights I’ve had at Kent.” Mr. Yezzi also made himself available to chat with inquisitive students and faculty and provided encouragement to anyone interested in writing poetry.
During his chapel talk, Mr. Yezzi discussed the generally increasing (and often self-imposed) isolation in the modern world. His astute observations of human tendencies are just one contributing factor to his successful poetry. Later, he remarked to Mr. Hinman’s AP English class that “the hallmark of a good poem is that it captures a universal human experience.”
During his reading in the Headmaster’s Study, Mr. Yezzi recited a number of self-disparaging, semi-autobiographical poems, some from his most recent collection, Azores. “These poems sometimes show me in a bad light,” he warned the audience. For example, “The Call” recounts the narrator’s somewhat apathetic reaction to the death of an acquaintance. When asked to what degree his poems are autobiographical, Mr. Yezzi responded that “ideally, there should be a balance between reality and fiction”—hence the universally relatable aspect of his work. “As I am working from experience,” he continued, “people will recognize some stories as actual events from my life. But I’m changing things—adding to them so they make more sense dramatically and poetically.”
Due to his background in theatre, Mr. Yezzi has experimented with Browning-esque dramatic monologues and short plays. He commented that these pieces are hybrids—equal parts play and poem. He is concerned with both the action on stage and the poetic significance: “I think it’s possible to approach it on both levels at once,” he said. “The Ghost Seer” is the story of a young painter whose father has recently died. The monologue is characterized by a vague, casual rambling. In “The Theft,” the narrator steals a gold watch from a dying man, and subsequently questions the nature of materialism. The animated and exuberant Mr. Yezzi turned his poetry reading into a compelling theatrical performance.
Mr. Yezzi’s visit to Kent was certainly a highlight for not just the English department, but the community as a whole. In fact, several Kent students confess to having added Mr. Yezzi as a friend on Facebook. It seems that he is a source of inspiration for some aspiring poets on campus. Stay tuned, Kent School—the next David Yezzi could be one of our own.
Donations made by students, faculty, and alumni will help aid the club’s quest to help fund freshwater projects in developing nations. No matter the size of the donation, every dollar counts. Twenty dollars can give one person clean, safe drinking water for 20 years. Water for Welfare has already sponsored many ways to raise revenue and awareness on campus, by selling dress down day wrist bands, whose proceeds went to the project Water for Schools, a subset of Charity: Water. The chapel speech, hosted by W4W, also helped promote awareness for it drew this pressing matter to the attention of the Kent community by highlighting the facts and truths about the world’s need for safe, clean drinking water.
