Michaela Woodward – Staff Writer
The inaugural Bards in the Arb event of this school year will feature poet Taylor Johnson from Washington DC and his debut book of poetry, Inheritance. In addition to being published in several magazines such as Poetry Magazine and The Paris Review, Johnson is the winner of the 2021 Norma Farber First Book Award from the Poetry Society of America and is currently the inaugural 2022 Poet-in-Residence at the Guggenheim Museum
Johnson will read from Inheritance on Tuesday, Oct. 11 from 7-9 p.m. in the Lind Interpretive Center. It is a free event and open to anyone interested in attending.
Johnson’s visit to campus is sponsored by the English Department, the Hanson-Peterson Chair of Liberal Studies, African/African Diaspora Studies, Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, and the Writing Center.
Senior English major Amanda Nyakwada serves as a Department Assistant for the English Department and has worked with Professor Philip Bryant to plan the event.
Nyakwada urges students to attend the reading as the themes in Johnson’s poetry are relatable and relevant, especially considering this year’s Nobel Conference theme, Mental Health (In)Equity and Young People.
“[Johnson is] talking about really important stuff but through a form of expression and I think a lot of us will relate to it, even with Nobel, which had a lot to do with identity,” Nyakwada said.
Additionally, Johnson’s own identity is an important element in his writing.
“[Johnson’s writing] focuses on detachment in communal forms from a Black, trans perspective. He focuses on connection; it has spiritual elements. Basically, considering the “I” as a plural rather than “you” as a single person. A Black trans perspective to connection, which I think we need more of in the world,” Nyakwada said.
The English Department, in their statement from 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, committed to focusing Bards in the Arb towards featuring Black writers and continuing to create a space for writers of color.
“Bards in the Arb, since the tragedy of George Floyd and in light of the Black Lives Matter movement, will be focusing on Black authors for at least the next three years, so I think that’s pretty cool,” Nyakwada said.