“Gather in Poems”
“Gather in Poems”: A Virtual Reading by Leading American Poets
The Academy of American Poets presented “Gather in Poems“, a virtual poetry reading that brought together distinguished poets from across generations, languages, and traditions. The program celebrated poetry’s ability to create connections among diverse communities and experiences through the work of both contemporary and historical poets.
The readers included award-winning poets such as Elizabeth Acevedo, Joy Harjo, Kwame Dawes, Denice Frohman, John Keene, Kimiko Hahn, Dorianne Laux, Naomi Shihab Nye, Oliver de la Paz, Afaa Michael Weaver, Yasmine Seale, andYvette Siegert. Together, they presented works by their favorite poets from diverse traditions, generations, and linguistic backgrounds. The program opened with Academy of American Poets Executive Director Ricardo Maldonado reading “Behind the Word is Silence” from Giannina Braschi’s Asalto al tiempo (Empire of Dreams), translated by Tess O’Dwyer.
Click on this link or the video above to watch “Gather in Poems“.
Great Poets Reading Poems by Other Great Poets
- Ricardo Maldonado reads “Behind the Word is Silence” by Giannina Braschi, translated by Tess O’Dwyer.
- Denice Frohman reads from “Relax” by Ellen Bass.
- Kwame Dawes reads “Traces” by Matthew Shenoda.
- Dorianne Laux reads “Counting, This New Year’s Morning, What Powers Yet Remain To Me” by Jane Hirshfield.
- Oliver de la Paz reads “Whom You Love” by Joseph O. Legaspi.
- Elizabeth Acevedo reads “My Mama moved among the days,” “wishes for sons,” “cutting greens,” and “blessing the boats” by Lucille Clifton.
- Joy Harjo reads “Deer’s Breath of Every Color” by Max Early.
- Naomi Shihab Nye reads “Zero” by Dorothea Tanning.
- Kimiko Hahn reads “Silverswords” by Juliet S. Kono.
- Afaa Michael Weaver reads “A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown” by Walt Whitman.
- Yasmine Seale reads “The Song in the Dream,” “Inside,” and “This Hour” by Saskia Hamilton.
- John Keene reads “The Healing Improvisation of Hair” by Jay Wright.
- Yvette Siegert reads her translation of “Distant Footsteps” by César Vallejo and “On Living” by Nâzim Hikmet, translated by Mutlu Konuk Blasing and Randy Blasing.
Behind the word is silence. Behind what sounds is the door. There is a back and a fold hiding in everything. And what was approaching fell and stopped far away in proximity. An expression falls asleep and rises. And what was over there returns. It’s a way to put the world back in its place.
Giannina Braschi
And something comes back when it should remain remembering. But if I ring the bell, water jumps and a river falls out of the water again. And the body rises and shakes. And the rock wakes and says I sing. And a hand turns into a kerchief. And twilight and wind are companions. And this twilight appears amid lightning. Outside there is a bird and a branch and a tree and that lightning. Above all, there is noon without form. And suddenly everything acquires movement. Two travelers meet and their shoes dance. And breeze and morning clash. And the seagull runs and the rabbit flies. And runs and runs, and the current ran. Behind what runs is life. Behind that silence is the door.
Asalto al tiempo, Empire of Dreams.