Each year, noted poets from around the globe unite on campus for Semana Poética ("Poetry Week"), a five-day, international literary festival that celebrates arts, languages and cultures.
Throughout the week, the poets meet with students in writing, literature and foreign-language workshops. They also present public readings; poets from non-English-speaking countries perform both in English and in their native tongues.
The readings are free and open to the public. At each reading, audience members receive free chapbooks of the night's performed poems, including English translations of each piece, when applicable.
The event is co-sponsored by the offices of academic affairs and global education and by the departments of Spanish & Portuguese, German, Russian, Middle East Studies, French & Italian, English and Music.
View video of poet Merit O'Hare '12 at the 2008 Semana Poética:
Published August 12, 2012