Alpha Mu Gamma brings community together for international poetry reading

Photo by Alyssa Padilla

“Despues de un tiempo, uno aprende la sutil diferencia entre sostener una mano y encadenar un alma,” spoke junior Hafsa Maghrebi as she recited a poem by Jorge Luis Borges during the international poetry reading night on March 8.  

“After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul.”  

Maghrebi was one of many students and faculty members that recited poems during the international poetry reading night that Alpha Mu Gamma (AMG) hosted in collaboration with the International Student Association (ISA).  

Maghrebi said, “I really like the meaning of this poem because it just talks about your life experiences as you go on and how your perspective changes, how you stop giving so much importance to other people.”  

More than 20 poems were shared. Some of the authors selected included Maria Sabina, Magdalena Garcia, Ahmend Shawqi, and Heinrich Heine. Many of the poems were recited in the language they were originally written in, which made for a night full of beautiful poems spoken in Spanish, German, Italian, Albanian, and more. 

Senior Stavroula Kokkali read the poem “Te Huaj Jemi,” or “We are strangers,” by Albanian poet Ismail Kadare. The poem detailed the longing that comes with missing someone.  

Kokkali shared that she chose the poem because she is very familiar with Ismail Kadare through her experience analyzing his work while she was in high school.

 “Sometimes it happens when you are so close to someone and then you just become strangers,” said Kokkali. “Then you sometimes think of them and the memories.” 

Other poems such as “Oracion” by Francisco Alacron, “Demain des l’aube” by Victor Hugo, and “Espantapajaros” by Oliverio Girondo were shared as well.  

The international poetry reading was a part of many events hosted by AMG in celebration of National Foreign Language week.