Everyone remembers studying poetry in English, and the isolating feeling of not understanding what was going on. It seems as though everyone goes through the stage of having no idea what to make of poetry and skating through English class with online interpretations.

Now, a group of students at Gustavus is attempting to use poetry in a different way: to bring students of different backgrounds, languages, and ethnicities together.

The Poetry All Around the World event put on by the Radicals, Campus Activities Board, the Russian Club, and OXFAM is happening on April 24th 4-6 pm in The Dive.

The basis of the event is to celebrate poetry that has linguistic diversity.

“This event is meant to bring us together, all languages are welcome. It’s takes place during Diversity week by design, there are many languages here at Gustavus so to give a stage where they can be shared with the Gustavus community really fits in with Diversity week” said Carter Gunnigle ‘18 the primary organizer of the event.

He decided to organize this event after speaking with his professor about the professor’s past with poetry events.

Gunnigle decided to try and revive this lost tradition and proceeded to reserve the space and finalize the poetry lineup.

In the past years events centered around poetry have been few and far between, and with Gunnigle’s efforts we will hopefully see a resurgence of poetry-based events on campus.

This particular event directly caters to one of Gustavus’ five pillars: Community.

Gustavus has a growing diverse background in terms of both students and professors.

As our collegiate community diversifies it is the duty of the existing community to work towards a meshing of all here at Gustavus.

It also contributes to three of the four other pillars of the Gustavus community: Excellence, Justice, and Service. This event will showcase the excellence of Gustavus students and their heritage while highlighting excellent poetry.

A step towards creating a just community with linguistically-mature students.

An example of the efforts students put into service on this campus.

“This involves international students and American students studying other languages and cultures. There will be multilingual students speaking poetry as well as students who are just starting out in languages. It will be poems they’ve either written themselves or poems they’re fond of” said Keliyah Perkins ‘19 one of the co-facilitators of the sponsoring organizations for the Poetry Around the World event.

One of her organization’s jobs is making sure the event runs smoothly by setting up for it, taking down the supplies and cleaning up after it occurs, and being present at the event.

The more students that attend events ultimately show the success of said event.

“The event isn’t just to showcase how well we can recite poetry in other languages, it’s to show that there other cultures, identities, people on campus that have sides of themselves that they don’t regularly show unless they’re surrounded by people speaking that language. In a English dominated campus, it’s refreshing to see another side of your peers that isn’t always presented in classes – outside of language classes. Languages are more than structured words on a page seeking definition – their emotion crosses barriers that need not be deciphered. ” said Perkins.

The event is open to each and every student and will be used as a way to help native English speakers understand more about the language the classmate in the seat right next to them may speak.

The event itself will be around two hours long and will have refreshments readily available.

The goal of hosting the event in the Dive is to foster a cafe-like ambience.

This is being done strategically to give the even a much more relaxed vibe and allow students, professors, and general attendees a chance to visit and unwind while listening to the poetry.

“The event is intended to celebrate the linguistic diversity of Gustavus. I wanted to give students a platform to share their language and its beauty. I hope students will leave with a deeper understanding and respect for the linguistic diversity of Gustavus.” said Gunnigle.

Every student, from each and every background, is encouraged to attend the event.

If one is interested in signing up to participate in the event and recite poetry in a language of their choosing, they can sign up outside the Diversity Center in the lower level of the Campus Center.

This event, as aforementioned, is a part of the Diversity Week put on by the Diversity Center.

Diversity Week will occurs from April 16-20 and end with the Diversity Ball on April 21. In the future, the Diversity Center will be hosting Courageous Conversations on May 1 and the Spring Movie Marathon on May 2.