If we do not guard what is real, something else becomes

After Thursday's Poets of Color class, I made my way to the Bender Room. At 5:30, students assembled into the Bender Room to hear "Works in Progress" from students in the MFA program. This is my first time inside the Bender room. The windows look out onto the lush green campus. There are glass bookcases-that did not seem to be filled with either books or figurines. It reminds me of a vessel or a container. There were a lot of people who filled the seats in the back row and our host Naamen encouraged the crowd to sit in the front. This was a good idea since the podium was far away and closer to the balcony. But this was nice, too. The sun shined onto the poets in a subtle way during intimate parts of their poems that complimented nicely.There was a great vibe in the room and a lot of excitement to hear the poets read.

The first poet to go was C.J. Singh. He wrote about krishna being black and how professor Ajuan Mance was quite inspired by that. I found this to be inspiring, too. I am a Art of Living participant. We combine yoga, meditation and community service. We love krishna! His short stories discussed his idenity as darker skinned Indian man. His stories were light but had good punches to them.

Maya Chincilla was next. Her poems spoke from the Latina bad ass chingona lover, sister fire side. She is bad ass! Her piece about the women in Juarez dying and about women in America going out by themselves made me cry. She also blends Spanish in her poems, this works really well. She doesn't explain her Spanish and makes it a part of the poem, making it all the richer. The audience was really engaged with all of the poets as we munched on yummy snacks and drank sodas, beer and wine. Our host, Naamen kept the flow of the night steady and upbeat.

Michael Kelley is currently my T.A in my Grammar for Academic Writers class and he is amazing. Firstly, his baby girl is beautiful. She waved to everyone in the room while Michael's wife supported her outgoing gestures. Michael read from his work of fiction, "The Torchbearer." It seemed to be about a young boy and his father and brother in the wilderness. It reminded me of a poetic Lord of the Flies. His writing was so much different from everyone else's pieces. His work is fiction and

Meg Day blew me away and made me cry. Her poems were rich in emotions and her relationship with her words - fierce. Her poems are honest and raw. I loved her performance. She has so much confidence. Her piece about HIV made me reflect about life and death and living with a stigma. She read some shorter pieces that she has been writing once a day about a person she has met or maybe just sees on the street>? I am not sure but they were lovely.

Visiting scholar and artist, Marc Bamuthi Joseph used his body to tell his poems. His jutting and jumping and movements gripped the audience. A lot of folks seemed in awe and were tripping out because they have never experienced anything like this before. I loved when he simulated being hung, in referernce to lynching. I found this reference to point to male sexuality during slavery. Also, he spoke of being a father for the first time and used humor and movement to tell his story of a drug free birth. I loved when he sat really close to Maya Chinchilla and impersonated the teacher, "Namaste, Bamuthi. How do you feel?" as he took exaggerated breaths and talked in a fluffy spiritual raw foodie voice! I had such a great time watching him and yes, I also cried during his pieces. If a poet makes me cry then they have accomplished so much!!!

I am really happy I went to the reading after class. I was moved and awakened inside. These poems about life and love and death and home, came with me as I left the Bender Room and crossed the lush lawn, as the sun set between two trees.

~Melissa