Award winning poet begins Meijer Visiting Writers Series
Sandra Beasley, author of three poetry collections and winner of the New Issues Poetry Prize, read her award-winning poetry Thursday in the Charles Park Library Barber Room.
The reading was the first of the Meijer Visiting Writers Series. Poetry readings have become less common because of losing funding from the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences. Jeffrey Bean, a Central Michigan University English professor, said this will change with a grant donation from Meijer, allowing CMU to bring more authors to campus for the next five years.
The exhibition began with Beasley reading multiple short poems from her books “Count the Waves,” “I Was the Jukebox,” “Theories of Falling” and “Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life.”
“This was the first time we reached out to a Corporate donor. We’re doing everything we’ve basically been doing, but now it’s with their grant instead of in-house,” Bean said. “This is like the rebirth of the series.”
After the reading, a question and answer was held with the audience before a book signing. Beasley’s “I Was the Jukebox” quickly sold out during the book signing.
“I think that one of the most important things to me as a poet is that emotion can not only be expressed, but it can be shaped,” Beasley said. “You need to find a way to bring your material to life but still have control over it.”
Beasley’s poetry continues to gain popularity by the way she bends poetry, making clear and sculpted images easy for all individuals to understand, she said, while never feeling empty of more ideas to explore.
“I knew I wanted to keep writing so I had to find something to write about. It’s just a matter of keeping yourself out and about in the world,” Beasley said. “I always say that if you just pay close attention to what’s actually going on in the real world, not even necessarily on a personal scale. (Pay attention to) the animals and the history and the strangeness. Then you’ve got all the stuff you need.”
Joey Payne said attending poetry reading helps students feel like more of an active part of the writing community.
“I feel that it is important to be supportive of our writing community. We should support those who share their work at CMU,” said Joey Payne. “We become generally inspired by events like these.”
Bean said the English Department is hoping to continue bringing well-known authors to campus with the Meijers donation.
“It’s just so great for me to be able to bring another poet in the room for the students to get their perspective,” Bean said. “It’s really valuable.”
