SOUTH BEND — Letras Latinas, the literary initiative at the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies, is pleased to be partnering with Notre Dame’s Creative Writing Program to present, “Because We Come From Everything: a night of poetry and community.” This campus event will feature students, faculty, staff, and members of the community, who will all be sharing poems on the theme of migration. The reading will take place on Thursday, March 30 at 7:30 PM in the banquet hall in the basement of McKenna Hall.
The event is part of the larger initiative, “Because We Come From Everything: Poetry & Migration,” which is a program of the Poetry Coalition, a group of twenty-five nonprofit organizations dedicated to working together to promote the value poets bring to our culture and communities, as well as the important contributions poetry makes in the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds.
Letras Latinas has been a member of this national coalition since its first convening in Santa Fe, NM in 2015. The March 30 event is one of five collaborative programs Letras Latinas is carrying out during the month of March, including a reading in Washington, D.C. on March 19, a reading in Chicago on March 29, and two online initiatives at Letras Latinas Blog and Best American Poetry Blog, respectively.
“Given Notre Dame’s public posture towards the undocumented, Letras Latinas welcomed the opportunity to partner with the Creative Program to add this program,” said Francisco Aragón, director of Letras Latinas. “Our MFA students have really risen to the occasion in organizing what promises to be a memorable program,” he added. Among the student organizers is Susanna Velarde Covarubbias, a first-year MFA candidate as well as a Letras Latinas associate.
“As a first generation Mexican raised here in the United States, this event is really close to my heart. I grew up in Arizona and many of my friends and relatives are directly affected by the current Administration’s agenda. It is vital for me to show support for them and for all immigrants—all individuals—who are feeling the weight of the current political climate. This is why it is especially important to me to do what I can to make this event as impactful as possible not only for the campus community, but for the local Latinx community,” said Velarde Covarrubias. “It is my hope that this event demonstrates our support for each other and especially for our DACA students. I would like those who attend to experience the role that poetry and community can have when having to navigate difficult times,” she added.
In addition to the poetry program at McKenna Hall, there will be a reception with food and refreshments. This event is free and open to the public and all are welcome.
To learn more about the Poetry Coalition’s pilot collaborative initiative and the other programs taking place throughout the month of March, visit:
https://www.poets.org/poetry-coalition/because-we-come-everything
#WeComeFromEverything #poetrycoalition
contact: faragon@nd.edu