Shaun-Dae Clark is a second year student at The George Washington University. She works at Gelman Library and will be studying abroad at the London School of Economics this fall.
-Justice Spencer, Nico Page, Marwa Roshan
The Recitation
The Interview interviewed by Justice Spencer
Justice: Why did you choose the poem? ("To Be in Love," by Gwendolyn Brooks)
Shaun-Dae: I chose the poem because it is about the power of love, to be completely cliché. Though I’ve never been in love, it makes me excited (and kind of scared), about the prospect of it. Though it indicates the heartbreak and agony often associated with love, the blissful and intimate experience of being in love is emphasized, and that’s enough to make me dream. I think everyone yearns for that euphoric feeling that brightens your overall outlook at life and allows you to empathize to the greatest extent, even when the crushing blows of lost love are your reality. It somehow has the power to make us still chase it, and I think that is beautiful, and perfectly transcribed in “To Be in Love.”
Justice: How does it fit into your everyday love?
Shaun-Dae: I’m pretty obsessed with the idea of being loved and loving someone else. Every day, consciously or otherwise, I wonder if I’ll meet my person. And every day I don’t, my heart breaks a little bit more. So I listen to love songs, watch romance movies, and read poems about love that all keep my faith in the prospect. It’s evaded me for far too long.
Justice: What connection do you see between music and poetry?
Shaun-Dae: Music is poetry. In the same way poetry tells a story and/or expresses or evokes a feeling, music does as well. My go to, whenever I feel sad, happy, or heartbroken, is the accompanying music and I imagine those who write and read poetry look for that same therapeutic feeling.
Vice Provost and Dean of Student Affairs Peter Konwerski Reads a Poem
As Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Konwerski is the chief student affairs officer for GW, managing a diverse staff of education professionals responsible for academic success; student academic engagement; parent engagement; and wellness, education, and prevention for GW undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. In addition to his administrative work, Dr. Konwerski holds academic appointments in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development, and the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Konwerski earned his bachelor’s degree in human services, master's degree in higher education administration, and doctorate in education and human development from GW.
-Sahara Lake, Damini Kunwar, and Scott Dillon
The Recitation
The Interview interviewed by: Sahara Lake, Damini Kunwar, and Scott Dillon
Poets: What is your favorite poem?
Peter Konwerski: I don’t know, that’s a good question. My sister was a huge Shel Silverstein fan and I remember, there’s a poem about like, my sister…and if you look it up, it’s a really sarcastic poem, “my sister for sale” or something like that, if you have siblings you understand. Then, if I think about historically, I probably read more Whitman and probably more American poetry. In courses, there is the ability to digest “what is the meaning” and “what do the words say?” “What do the words really mean?” and also “What is the symbolism?”. I was not an English major but in the courses I’ve taken, that was the opportunity I had to delve into it a little bit more.
Poets: What are some of your experiences with poems?
Peter Konwerski: It’s interesting, I think today everything is so much more digital; there is more access in some way to the arts and poetry broadly. I think poetry and lyrics often align…you think of a great rapper or a great spoke-word poet. One of my favorite poets, you all might know her, she is an GW alum (Elizabeth Acevedo), when you hear it, it’s different from when you read it, and I think we are visual, and auditory, and also being able to watch [helps]. I think about the dynamic nature of art, not just poetry and everything is colliding. I don’t just think of it like great poetry, but great writing, which has more of a lyrical cadence or more of a musical feel to it. That collision of it…it’s on social media, it’s on the radio, and we see it all over.
Poets: Do you have a favorite song or lyrics?
Peter Konwerski: I don’t know if I have a favorite song. I like a lot of instrumental stuff, like jazz, part of that is the beat and the tempo. I actually listen to more, you guys will laugh but, what I consider classic rock, which goes back to Elton John, Steve Miller Band, Crosby, Stills and Nash. I’m not into hip-hop or more modern techno music, but I recognize a lot of that music. But, for example, in the (human services) classes that I teach, there is an exercise I give where I have people give reflections on the city, or spirituality or activism. [From that], I get amazing poems, lyrics and songs and students are pulling a song from Beyoncé or Kanye West. The influences I get now as an administrator or as a faculty member, are from the students in a more contemporary society…because, students will say to us, this artist is speaking about poverty, injustice or social action. Some of the stuff that happened with Ferguson this fall, we saw this great dialogue, often times through poetry or spoken word.
Poets: Have you ever written poetry of your own?
Peter Konwerski: I mean probably when I was a kid [laughs] but no, I haven’t. But sometimes, in a way, I think it’s good, in any exercise, to use your left and right brain. When you use a different part of your brain…like a friend/faculty member at Corcoran and when you actually have to use some creative expression, it’s good to get out of your mind set of saying “Oh, I typically write a proposal or a memo” as oppose to “Oh, let me think about this a little more creatively.” Creativity is something that affects all of us. When you think of things that cross the total student experience, like being creative, and being a critical thinker and being able to problem solve, those are bigger picture skills that people want when you graduate. [You want to able to say] “I can think critically, I’m a good collaborator”, which means you probably can be creative.
Poets: Do you think GWU can benefit from poetry?
Peter Konwerski: Yes, I think in the context of creativity and the arts. I think people at universities appreciate the variety. We are not set on “this is only my discipline,” [points to Sahara], you’ve studied Political Science, and there is part of political science that is statistics and numbers and part of it that is theory, and you have to appreciate both. A lot of [having a] well-rounded, liberal arts education is being able to appreciate the value of sciences, languages, theory, practice…they all matter. And you might gravitate towards one but you can’t do one without the other. Like if you are fixing a problem today, you can’t fix the problem without math or technology even if you’re building a road. There are things that go into that “what tools do you need to build it?” or “how do you measure the space that you need?”…you have to use all those things together.
Poets: Can you give us a reading of your favorite poem?
This Spring, Daniel DeWisepelare has been teaching Critical Methods (ENGL 2800W), and his students for this course will be presenting their work on critical theory and literature at "A Critical Methods Symposium and Party" today at 2pm in Rome Hall 771. The Symposium is in its second year and testifies to the thriving culture in the English Department. It also speaks to Professor DeWispelare's abiding passion for language, discourse communities, and the life of literature. Scott Dillon, an ENGL 2470, recently asked the scholar of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries about the poems that matter to him. Among the poets he notes are Jack Gilbert, John Keats, and Mary Robinson, whose poem "January 1795" he shares at the end of the following interview.
THE RECITATION
THE INTERVIEW
Scott:
What are some your experiences with poetry?
DeWispelare:
I will say that I have probably less experience with poetry than a lot of people. I came to poetry later in life than many. The thing that always got me into literature was prose, so let’s say, the desire vested in the unfolding arc of a novel. I have a kind of crude sense of what poetry does, but I think it communicates in very different ways.
Scott:
Who are some your favorite poets?
DeWispelare:
I like this guy, Jack Gilbert and there are other poets I like that come from other traditions. I like this guy…..who is a Russian language poet. I do like John Keats and the Romantic poets, although sometimes I think, the Romantic poets are little over the edge for me. I look at the world, really different than they look at the world. But, that’s one of the reasons I find their poetry so interesting. I never got into the high Modernists. I had a really brief dalliance with liking T. S. Eliot or at least thinking that that kind of stuff T.S. Eliot was doing was the kind of intellectual work I thought literature could do. But I think I kind of moved on from that.
Scott:
Eliot writes in a narrative way, so I would think that would be more approachable?
DeWispelare:
Absolutely. I would say Eliot writes in a more montage way, that would be my brief response to that as oppose to a narrative. Compare it to the narrative function of prose…
Scott:
He’s getting the same affect with a different technique?
DeWispelare:
No way, but no means. I’m taking about dirty spy novel; a chaotic unfolding of weird events that are stitched together. I’m sure poetry can do analogous things, but not the same things. [slight pause] I’m trying to think…so some of my favorites of the romantic poems are Keats’ odes. I’ve never been into Blake, sorry Jennifer. I think Jennifer is into Blake, or maybe Jennifer and I agree on a dislike of Blake, maybe I’m misremembering this. But anyway, if you know William Blake’s weird poetic world, there’s this kind of genre of scholars in my field, that are absolutely obsessed with William Blake, and I’ve always had a hard time digesting it. [slight pause] Similarly, Byron, who is kind of central to my period…if anything, I suppose the person I feel closest to, even though he is kind of a strange individual is William Wordsworth, in this period.
Scott:
Have you ever written any poetry of your own?
DeWispelare:
Infrequently. I’m quite interested in the poetic function vis-à-vis, Roman Jakobson, but I haven’t necessarily composed poetry. Although, I have from time to time, written poetry to people. But generally, in a more ironic voice, not as something serious…
Today is the Critical Methods Symposium and Party! Come and see students (many of them English majors) present their work integrating cultural studies, critical theory, and literary analysis.
This event was organized by Prof. Daniel DeWispelare, who (among other professors in the department) has taught our course on Critical Methods.
We hope this will be a stimulating venue for intellectual community and discussion -- plus food and socializing.
The provisional schedule of speakers is below (click the image to enlarge).
As President of the Residence Hall Association, Mike Massaroli is not only a junior studying Political Science, but he is a legitimate GW Celebrity. AND, he cares about poetry. Kenny Hoffman recently interviewed Mike about his favorite poem, Ernest Lawrence Thayer's "Casey at the Bat," and how poems figure into the life of the RHA.
THE RECITATION
THE INTERVIEW
Kenny:
Why did you choose to read this poem in particular?
Mike:
So, this was a poem that has always had a lot of meaning for me because, actually, back in middle school we had to do, basically, a poetry recital where we had to memorize an entire poem and deliver it to the whole class, and I was a big baseball fan then and now so, I thought, "Oh, I should memorize 'Casey at the Bat' and read that to everyone." And, I remember, you know, going through that poem over and over again, and sort of, like, spending so much time reading it and taking it in, just trying to get it all down, and I was so excited when I realized, "Wow, I can memorize, like, forty lines or something. That's crazy." And I read it, and I got an A, so I was pretty happy.
Kenny:
What do you think the importance of poetry is? Do you think it is important?
Mike:
I think it's important because I think it gives us the chance to sort of see the deeper meaning behind things we experience in our everyday lives. And, whereas, like, obviously there's all sorts of great value in, like, a flat piece of prose, but poetry sort of gives you a chance to dig deeper into what you're experiencing and to what others experienced and sort of see the symbolism behind a lot of that and see the beauty in a lot of things in the everyday world.
Kenny:
As a public student leader—you're the president of RHA—how does your private experience withpoetry, or, more broadly, your private experience with art, effect your public performance?
Mike:
Honestly, my experience with this poetry recital in, like, seventh grade, when I was like, "I don't think I can memorize, like, a giant poem, I think this is going to be too hard," and I just sat and I worked on it and, like, really absorbed it for a long time and then found that I was able to deliver it pretty well and, like, pretty effectively and sort of, I hope, convey what the poet was trying to convey—it sort of gave me an increased confidence in, like, my ability to speak and my ability to deliver things, which I think has stuck with me ever since. I think that this poetry recital in seventh grade sort of, like, spiraled into something that still sticks with me today.
GW Professors Jennifer James and Jennifer C. Nash are part of a forum accessible online this month in Feminist Studies. The forum is on "Teaching about Ferguson," with six professors reflecting on the pedagogical challenges of teaching about state-sanctioned violence against people of color in the United States. There is direct access to Feminist Studies online for the whole month of April.
Six professors reflect on the pedagogical challenges of teaching about state-sanctioned violence against people of color in the United States:
Jennifer C. Nash, Teaching about Ferguson: An Introduction
Jennifer James, Looking
Sylvanna M. Falcón, The Globalization of Ferguson: Pedagogical Matters about Racial Violence
Sarah Jane Cervenak, On Not Teaching about Violence: Being in the Classroom After Ferguson
Rebecca Wanzo, The Deadly Fight Over Feelings
Treva B. Lindsey, Post-Ferguson: A "Herstorical" Approach to Black Violability
To "speak about Ferguson is always to speak about more than Ferguson," as Jennifer C. Nashnotes. "Ferguson" has become shorthand for the legal murder and devaluation of racially marked bodies. Nash reflects on teaching about racial violence in the midst of racial violence. Jennifer James argues that we must "accept the unleashing of historical mourning as part of what we do." Sylvanna M. Falcón connects racialized police violence within the United States with state violence outside the United States. Sarah Jane Cervenak builds on Trinh T. Minh-ha's documentary concept of "speaking nearby" to teach "near" racial and sexual violence. Rebecca Wanzo analyzes anger over Mary Engelbreit's transgressive portrayal of a mother crying in the wake of Michael Brown's death. Treva B. Lindsey reminds us of the role of trans* and queer people in racial justice movements, and counters narratives about racial violence that center only on Black men.
Steve Hilmy is a rare breed of professor—insanely knowledgeable and the type that you’d want to go get a beer with because he’s so cool. If you speak to him for one second you realize this guy has more knowledge than you could potentially absorb in a lifetime. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Steve was then sent to a British boarding school at the tender age of 7. He went to GW for undergrad, and has been the Director of the Electronic and Computer Music Studio since 1992. Before heading into the electronic realm of music, Steve was a symphonic composer. Now, most of his work combines performance, dance, and electronic music. As a composer, a main source of his inspiration is poetry. Here, he reads the third poem in Samuel Beckett’s “Quartre Poèmes.”
- Maggie Koons, Alaina Noronha, & Hannah Spector
THE RECITATION
THE INTERVIEW
Maggie/Alaina/Hannah:
What connection do you think there is between music and poetry, the biggest connection?
Steve Hilmy:
The biggest connection is the sound. The sort of poetry I’m interested in is the sort of poetry that has to be read aloud. I think you can read it and you can hear that voice in your head, but reading it aloud brings it to life—same with music. In another way, music is on a score, it’s a set of directions for musicians, and the poem is on a piece of paper, but the expression of both of these, I believe, is the actual performance of the poem or the music. I think music and poetry are meant to be ephemeral, meant to be out, delivered, and swept by you and how you perceive them is associated with where you are, what is going, whether you hear all the words, whether you hear all the score—it’s all a big part of what music and poetry magical.
M/A/H:
Do you write poetry?
Steve Hilmy:
I’ve written very bad poems, that I’ve never deemed to submit them to anybody except for my diary. So, not really.
M/A/H:
How often does poetry factor into your music making process?
Steve:
For the first ten years of my compositional life, I didn’t do a single piece that wasn’t either inspired by a poem or used a poem—usually in a singing voice, a soprano or mezzo-soprano, really a woman actually. I wrote one piece for a baritone on an Emily Dickinson poem.
