Because We Come From Everything: Poetry & Migration - March 2017
In 2015, over 20 poetry organizations joined forces to form a national Poetry Coalition working together to promote the value poets bring to our culture and the important contribution poetry makes in the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds.
In March 2017, the Poetry Coalition launches its inaugural effort, Because We Come from Everything: Poetry & Migration. For this collaborative effort, each organization in the Coalition is bringing its unique mission to the task of presenting programs and projects on the theme of migration. Learn more on the Poetry Coalition's website and follow the campaign's hashtags on social media: #WeComeFromEverything #PoetryCoalition
Split This Rock presents the following efforts in support of Because We Come From Everything: Poetry & Migration:
SUNDAY KIND OF LOVE READING & OPEN MIC SERIES
On Sunday, March 19 at 5 pm at Busboys and Poets (14th & V) join us for a migration-themed Sunday Kind of Love featuring poets Wo Chan, author of the chaplet ORDER THE WORLD, MOM and José B. González, author of Toys Made of Rock. Learn more on the Sunday Kind of Love website page.
Co-sponsored by:
Kundiman, an organization dedicated to the creation, cultivation, and promotion of Asian American literature and Letras Latinas, the literary initiative at University of Notre Dame's Institute for Latino Studies
Watch a video recap of this reading on YouTube here:
POEM OF THE WEEK SERIES
Every Friday for the Month of March, Split This Rock will publish poems on the theme of migration. Poems for each week will be listed on this page as well with a link to the full poem in The Quarry.
- Friday, March 3 - Deported by Ellen Kombiyil. Read Deported in The Quarry.
- Friday, March 10 - English Words by José B. González. Read English Words in The Quarry.
- Friday, March 17 - my mother watches her mother’s funeral footage again by Wo Chan. Read my mother watches her mother’s funeral footage again in The Quarry.
- Friday, March 24 - Pause Hawk Cloud Enter by Lauren Camp. Read Pause Hawk Cloud Enter in The Quarry.
- Friday, March 31 - Spratly and Paracel by Esther Lin. Read Spratly and Paracel in The Quarry.
POETRY WRITING WORKSHOPS
The FREE writing workshops on the 1 & 3rd Wednesday this March will feature migration themed poetry and writing prompts. Photo by Kristin Adair.
- Split This Rock Board Chair, Dan Vera will facilitate the workshop on Wednesday, March 1, 6:30 pm. Learn more on the Facebook event page.
- Split This Rock Assistant Youth Programs Coordinator, Chelsea Iorlano and Split This Rock Poetry & Social Justice Fellow, Simone Roberts will co-facilitate the workshop on Wednesday, March 15, 6:30 pm. Learn more on the Facebook event page.
MIGRATION POEMS FROM THE QUARRY
Along with the Poem of the Week series, we will be sharing migration-themed poems throughout March on Split This Rock's Facebook and Twitter pages. Visit The Quarry to read the poems below and to explore other poems on the topic of migration.
- Ama-ar-gi* by Dunya Mikhail
- Anonymous Song by Fady Joudah
- Baghdad Before the Occupation by Amal Al-Jubouri
- barreras by María Luisa Arroyo
- Do you Speak Persian by Kaveh Akbar
- Ghazal for the Ninth Month by Shadab Zeest Hashmi
- Landscapes that Remind Me of My Children/Pasajes que me Recuerdan a Mis Hijos by Lourdes Galván
- origin stories by Safia Elhillo
- things that shine in the night by Rigoberto González
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Morning Star by Craig Santos Perez