An Anticipated Night of Poetry- Under or Over-Whelming?

Tonight I attended Louise Gluck's poetry reading. Just a few days ago I got back from Mississippi and Memphis for the Civil Rights trip. The reason I am mentioning this is because on the trip, although it was wonderful and education, I noticed that the majority of the speakers we listened to and the majority of the first-hand stories we heard came from male speakers, so it was a relief listening to a female tonight. I know that preface might seem random, but it truly was nice to be sitting in the stands listening to a wise woman tonight after the experience I just had, (not that there was anything wrong with all of the male speakers at all). I know that Gluck is an incredible accomplished poet, but to be honest, when she started to read her books out loud I was a little bit underwhelmed. She said before she began reading that she wanted to read her poems and some of her prose straight through without commenting about each one before she read it. So she read and read in this slow, soft voice. I could barely understand what the poems were about--I comprehend things better when I can see the words and frankly I just did not understand what she was talking about in her poems, although I wish I did more. I feel like it's important to be honest when reflecting on public events, and so far out of all 8 that I have attended, this was my last one and it was the ONLY one that did not resonate with me in any way, that I was not inspired by really. However, I can touch on the few parts that stood out to me a little bit. She integrated a line of french into one of her poems, which I appreciated because I have been taking French for all 4 years of high school. She referenced a Hebrew poem that is read when people pass away, and I appreciated that as well because I went to a Jewish school for 11 years where I learned all of the Hebrew prayers. Lastly, I liked the honesty in her poems and the use of descriptive detail for example how she smokes cigarettes or how tightly her hair was braided as a child. It is admirable that Gluck has been so successful in what she does and has made such a name for herself as a female poet. I like how she taught at Williams College for 20 years and how she continues to go around and use her knowledge to educate and help others. People like Gluck who can share their wisdom and express it in such a way as she does are extremely valuable to push the female community, and to society as a whole

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My First ADL Educational Experience--Especially Before College

The other night I attended an Anti-Defamation League event, mostly focused on anti-semitism on college campuses. Essentially, this was an event just for kids my age who are off to college next year, so as to prepare them for how to face certain realities. All of the kids at the event happened to be people I went to middle school with at Anshe Emet, my current peers at Parker, or other Chicago students that I know from Synagogue, etc-- this was relevant for me in the sense that I felt comfortable at this event, confident to actively participate, and honored to be around people that I have fondly grown up with. Anyway, the ADL is an organization that "imagines a world without hate;" the things they focus on are anti-semitism, civil rights, education/outreach, and combating hate in general. This made me think of the feminism strand because women have historically been oppressed, stripped of basic civil rights, and so I related this event to the hate that women have faced. I appreciated this public event because it made me reflect on my identity as a Jew, as well as my identity as a woman. I learned that there is a difference between ignorance toward issues like anti-semitism as opposed to outright, intentional, aggressive, hatred. To mend the hate or ignorance, the two situations must be tackled differently. At this event, one of the things we did was read aloud various scenarios of what might occur on college campus, and learned tools/phrases that we could use in those situations in order to have our voice heard, stick up for a certain belief, and hopefully educate others. I felt this was important because being prepared for what might be an uncomfortable situation, makes the outcome of whatever happens hopefully that much more effective for the person standing up for themselves, and for the recipient. Being of the minority in the Jewish community, on top of being a woman, I might face double stereotyping or outward comments, but now I know how to better handle that reality. Just because I am a girl or because on the surface I seem quiet, I am always entitled to voice how I feel. Another aspect of this event that I appreciated was the history that was integrated. In order to make a stronger point and to form a more concrete opinion, I believe we must know the history of what has previously happened whether that be about how jews have historically been treated (the Holocaust, the creation of Israel, the Palestinian conflicts, etc) or how women have been treated (didn't have the right to vote, domestic labour, sexual assault victims, etc). Understanding the basis of women's oppression and the basis of anti-semitism and the basis of many other issues that exist today is valuable to me, in order to be the best citizen/person that I can.