PJI Festival on Fordham News
On April 7th a group of poets, students, teachers, readers, and activists gathered on zoom for a night of collaborative listening and responding, as an act of solidarity in our tumultuous circumstances. We are thrilled to see that Fordham News covered this event in a recent article, “Virtual Fordham Poetry Festival Inspires 89-Page Poem.” The author, Taylor Ha, highlighted some of the most productive and restorative moments of the night: the collective 89-page poem, the challenging apology from Poet-Guide, José Felipe Alvergue, and the gratitude the Poet-Guide, Carolyn Forché inspired us all to cultivate. Ha writes that
“At the end of the evening, the guests thanked their poet guides and hosts. ‘I am so grateful for all of you—for the vulnerability, for the hope,’ typed one person. ‘A gift of Covid for sure—such an event could not have existed otherwise,’ wrote another. They left the event with a unique souvenir: 89 pages of their collective poetry from the saved Zoom chat.”
This Festival was no accident—but crafted with care for all of us experiencing so much sorrow, so much stress, so much fatigue. As an Institute we wanted to provide a space where, once again, we can restore our hope, continue to fight injustice everywhere, and be there for one another in this messy, confusing, and difficult process.
Read Ha’s full article here.
