College of Saint Mary to host a virtual poetry reading with Texas Poet Laureate
OMAHA, Neb. – College of Saint Mary (CSM) will host virtual poetry reading with a former Texas Poet Laureate. The event, featuring Emmy Pérez, will be noon, April 4 on YouTube. “Emmy Pérez is a highly respected poet, and brings an important perspective to her art,” said Dr. Chris Krampe, director of humanities and fine arts at CSM. “I was excited to offer a poet of her standing the opportunity to present her work and discuss her creative process with our community.”
Pérez, a Chicanx poet and writer originally from Santa Ana, Calif., will read selections of her poetry and talk about her art. She was the recipient of a 2020 Poets Laureate Fellowship with the Academy of American Poets. In 2017, she received a National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship.
Pérez has lived in the borderlands of Texas since 2000, where she has taught creative writing in college and Master of Fine Arts programs, as well as in detention facilities and as part of social justice projects. She is best known for her collections “With the River on Our Face” and “Solstice.”
Pérez received the 2009 Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Award and previously received the James D. Phelan Literary Award from the San Francisco Foundation. Pérez was Texas Poet Laureate from March 25, 2020, to May 17, 2021.
“Her work captures the light, heat and wild beauty of the borderlands while also pressing a human presence into the natural environment,” Dr. Krampe said. “She is able to remind us that humans inhabit the land, and therefore social issues are intimately connected to land, borders and geography. Her use of language appeals strongly to the senses and is a joy to read or hear read aloud.”
“I hope first and foremost people will simply enjoy the act of listening to a talented and critically-acclaimed poet reading her own work,” Dr. Krampe added. “It is an absolute pleasure to have those moments in our lives.”
A recording will be posted on the CSM website for those unable to attend the April 4 event. The recording will only be available for viewing on April 4-6.
