The Citizen Recommends: We (Too) Are Philly
The Citizen Recommends: Nosotros (Too) Are Philly
Philly's Poet Laureate invites the urban center of many to gloat the many in the city
May. 30, 2018
Ours is a metropolis of many languages. Simply as Philadelphia wouldn't be Philly without "jawn," it wouldn't exist Philly without "cabrón," without the languages that migrants bring to this city. It too wouldn't be Philadelphia if in that location were only one manner to love and inhabit information technology as we inhabit ourselves.
I am proud to be of a metropolis that speaks and writes in both English and Spanish. This has been a sanctuary for so many, and its poet laureate should reflect that by helping its inhabitants see others like themselves standing earlier the mic.
I write and read in both languages because I believe it is an important method of countering homogeneity and assimilation. Poetry should pause ane apart, brand one see the earth anew, and crack fissures in the incommunicable. It is besides important that each verse performance exist a commonage experience. The right poets can heal, rebuild after hurricanes, cross borders, and translate the untranslatable by other ways.
When I became Poet Laureate in January, my programme was to organize readings in collaboration with community organizers. This metropolis should continue to be a place where they tin can share and mourn and honey with others. Philly is a sanctuary city not just in name. It'south a ciudad santuario because there are spaces to welcome and support people who come from all over the world who come to make new homes and build communities.
We believe that highlighting Philadelphian poets will serve to enhance and respect the histories of those who have built this city.
This is why I decided to plan Nosotros (Too) Are Philly , a summertime poetry festival I am organizing alongside poets Ashley Davis , Kirwyn Sutherland , and Raena Shirali . It is inspired by Langston Hughes' verse form " I, Also " and features a line-up of poets of color who have a strong commitment to fighting white supremacy and collaborating with local communities to create shared creative spaces.
Poets will come from all over, but each featured poet will be from Philadelphia. We believe that highlighting Philadelphian poets volition serve to heighten and respect the histories of those who take built this city. We seek to show that artistic activities in Philadelphia can include people who are new to a community, while respecting and highlighting writers and artists who have been part of those communities for a long time.
Each reading volition too feature at least one poet who works in more than one language, because Philadelphia is a multilingual city. Every bit I mentioned, i of my premier objectives has been to increase the number of readings that feature poets who write in languages other than English. 1 of the about common and exclusionary assumptions that predominates in most literary spaces is that everyone speaks or prefers to write in English. I'd like to change that expectation and normalize the notion that there might be difficulty and discomfort in the act of listening. For nearly immigrants, coming hither means expecting all kinds of challenges, including a pressure to assimilate past speaking English. By providing a setting where English shares a space with other languages, we can momentarily tip the scales and encourage a culture that respects difference.
For nearly immigrants, coming here ways expecting all kinds of challenges, including a force per unit area to digest past speaking English. By providing a setting where English language shares a space with other languages, we can momentarily tip the scales and encourage a culture that respects difference.
We (As well) Are Philly volition also help forge organic relationships between the spaces that are hosting the readings and the organizers. We hope to attain this by consciously working with the history of each infinite. This is why, as organizers, nosotros do historical enquiry and maintain an open dialogue with community organizations. Nosotros advisedly consider spaces for each event, taking into account how those spaces relate to surrounding neighborhoods, how long they've been in Philadelphia, and their history.
Philadelphia has a long history of both racial and economic segregation. Frequently, poetry scenes are split and the same audiences end up going to the aforementioned event spaces, without there existence whatsoever crossover. We aim to mix these audiences up by bringing in readers from different scenes and selecting locations that don't host regular readings.
The first of six readings volition have place on June three, at Pentridge Station in Westward Philadelphia. The feature volition exist the Philadelphian poet, Warren Longmire, and the lineup includes: Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Vincent Toro, Grisel Acosta, Kassidi Jones, and Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela. The full schedule for We (Too) Are Philly can be found here . Join us and help edify those who fight and work everyday to build Philadelphia into a place of promise.
We (Likewise) Are Philly Launch, Sunday, June 3, vii pm-10 pm, Pentridge Station, 5110-5120 Pentridge St. Click hither for full schedule
Photograph via Raquel Salas Rivera 
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Source: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/the-citizen-recommends-we-too-are-philly/