Poetry is alive and well at the 51在线, where the Garry Fleming poetry series continues to inspire students and community members alike. This enduring legacy was sparked by a transformative $600,000 donation from poet and artist Garry Fleming in 2005. Two decades later, the USF Humanities Institute and the Michael Kuperman Memorial Poetry Library continue to bring Fleming鈥檚 vision to life by inviting world-renowned poets to inspire students to pursue their passion for writing.
In previous years, the Humanities Institute hosted poets such as Pulitzer Prize-winner Jericho Brown鈥攁uthor of 鈥淭he Tradition鈥� (2019) and 鈥淭he New Testament鈥� (2014), NY Times bestseller Aimee Nezhukumatathil鈥攁uthor of 鈥淲orld of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies,鈥� 鈥淲hale Sharks, and Other Astonishments鈥� (2020), and 鈥淟ucky Fish鈥� (2011); and Chen Chen鈥攁uthor of 鈥淲hen I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities鈥� (2017) and 鈥淵our Emergency Has Experienced an Emergency鈥� (2022).
Since partnering with the Michael Kuperman Memorial Library and establishing the series in Fleming鈥檚 name, the institute welcomed award-winning poet and essayist Ocean Vuong鈥攁uthor of 鈥淭ime Is a Mother鈥� (2022) and 鈥淣ight Sky with Exit Wounds鈥� (2016)鈥攖o a packed auditorium.
鈥淚t was incredible to look out and see a room filled to capacity for a poetry reading,鈥� said Elizabeth Kicak, director of the Humanities Institute. 鈥淰uong is an inspiration to so many readers and writers. To bring the literary community together to enjoy such a unique and moving voice is very special.鈥�
And the series is just getting started.
Poet Alison C. Rollins will be at USF on Monday, February 3rd at 6:00 PM.
Poet Paul Hlava Ceballos will be at USF on Tuesday, February 18th at 6:00 PM.
Poet Dana Levin will be at USF on Thursday, April 3rd at 6:00 PM.
This year, poets Alison C. Rollins鈥攁uthor of 鈥淏lack Bell鈥� and 鈥淟ibrary of Small Catastrophes鈥�, Paul Hlava Ceballos鈥攁uthor of 鈥渂anana鈥俒鈥俔鈥�, and Dana Levin鈥攁uthor of 鈥淣ow Do You Know Where You Are鈥濃�攚ill be visiting USF鈥檚 Tampa campus to share their craft with students and the community. These poets were all handpicked by the Humanities Institute, the Michael Kuperman Memorial Library and the students in the Creative Writing Student Group.
鈥淓ach poet on this year鈥檚 lineup is a compelling voice in contemporary poetry,鈥� Kicak explained. 鈥淭hese are influential writers from a variety of backgrounds that should offer something inspiring to everyone.鈥�
With time, Kicak and Natalie Scenters-Zapico, founding director of the Michael Kuperman
Memorial Library, hope the event will become an anticipated annual gathering in the
community that leaves attendees with a deeper appreciation for the written word.
鈥淪o many people think they need to 鈥榝igure out鈥� poetry and only view it through the
lens of their high school literature class,鈥� Kicak said. 鈥淲hen we let go of the expectation
to 鈥榝igure out鈥� a poem, we can simply revel in the beauty and music of the language.鈥�
鈥淧oetry is vital as a counter to the rapid, fast-paced, consumer-driven culture we live in today because it forces us to slow down, read in a circular manner, and gives importance to the often mundane, but vitally important, dailiness of our lives,鈥� Scenters-Zapico said.
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