The Poetry of Social Justice with Martín Espada

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Join us virtually and watch the video of the event, captured by student photographer Ian Stearns and edited by student videographer David Zhang:

Photo gallery from the event, with images by student photographer Ian Stearns:

“Times of hate always call for poems of love”
- Martín Espada, October 15, 2021

The 2021 Commonwealth Honors College plenary lecture was a soulful event made even more special for being the first in-person, collective experience of art many participants have been able to share since the beginning of the pandemic.

Professor Martín Espada spoke to a full house. In attendance were first year Honors students enrolled in the Ideas That Changed the World class, Honors students further along in their courses of study, students from across campus and the Five Colleges, faculty, staff, and community members. He read from his new National Book Award nominated collection Floaters, shared earlier poems including his celebrated and beloved 9/11 memorial poem “Alabanza,” and constructed an address that stirred and inspired the audience to consider their own roles—and what is really required of us—in changing the world.

Over the next weeks we’ll be sharing multimedia student reflections on their experiences of the event, and we’ll be making video of the Plenary available very soon. Keep an eye on our social media channels for these creative student-driven responses to the power of poetry in our community!

Instagram · Twitter · Facebook

Watch video interviews with students who attended the event:

Student Voices: Gray Davidson Carroll on Martín Espada

Student Voices: Jessica Beasley on Martín Espada

Watch "Martín Espada & The Poetry of Social Justice" - student vlogger Maria Nieves Quevedo Herrera's fun Highlight Reel

Read student blogger Soha Habib's "The Poetry of Social Justice: Martín Espada and Ideas That Change the World"

You can find information about past plenary lectures here.