Spring Break
Poet adds Filipino culture to work
Melissa Sturtevant/Staff Reporter
Issue date: 4/7/09 Section: News
|
Igloria read poetry to students and staff members Monday in Doudna Fine Arts Center Lecture Hall.
That poem was one of many Igloria read that explained what goes on in the Philippines. She read from her poetry books "Trill and Mordent" and "Juan Luna's Revolver."
Igloria said her adopted mother and biological mother were her first poetry teachers.
She said her mothers used to make her peel lima beans one by one, and then one day she realized that was not necessary in order to eat them. However, she connected peeling the beans to poetry - attention to detail is necessary.
Igloria also joked in the middle of her presentation that her English and literature teachers kidnapped her for life.
"One day my teachers literally dragged me by the arm and sat me down for advising," Igloria said. "They had seen my essays and told me that I should major in English. That was when I first realized that my early career plans probably weren't right for me."
Igloria graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago and now teaches in the Master's of Fine Arts Creative Writing Program at Old Dominion University.
"It is thrilling to make reconnections after all these years," Igloria said. "And also to make new ones."
Other poems read included "The Secret Language," "The Clear Bones," "Flesh Lyric" and "Black Elk in Paris." Almost all the poems were related to Igloria's experiences while living in the Philippines.
Amanda Veale, a senior English major, said the poetry reading was beautiful.
"I learned a lot about the (Philippine) culture," Veale said. "She took complex ideas and made them accessible."
Igloria said including culture into her poems is important. She said thinking about one's own traditions and knowing one's family history is also important.
"You have to let your kids know your connection to history and your culture," Igloria said. "It's a natural inclination to tell people about it."
Stephani Pescitelli, a junior environmental biology major, said she heard about the reading from posters that were on campus, and she was intrigued.
"Her poems illuminated a specific case of exploitation that I have not been exposed to," she said.
Melissa Sturtevant can be reached at 581-7942 or at mnsturtevant@eiu.edu.
The Daily Eastern News encourages on-topic, civil discussion on its articles posted online. It is our policy not to screen comments before they are posted or edit them after they are posted. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are off-topic, malicious, libelous or include excessive foul language. The DEN also reserves the right to turn off all comments on any story it deems necessary.
Comments violating copyright law will also be removed.
Users who repeatedly violate this policy will be banned from commenting.
If you have any questions on our comment policy or wish to report a comment that you feel violates these standards, please e-mail a link to the article to our Online Editor at DENNews.com@gmail.com.
Be the first to comment on this story