Exploring vulnerability: Oregon’s poet laureate demystifies art, expression at Pacific University
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(PORTLAND TRIBUNE) — An audience sat scattered across the rows of the Taylor-Meade Performing Arts Center, but a still silence overtook the room.
Like a trance, each student, professor and visitor found themselves ensnared in the words of Anis Mojgani as his cadence carried them through stories — and filled the hollow space with a resonating emotion.
Mojgani, Oregon’s 10th poet laureate, visited Pacific University in Forest Grove on Thursday, Feb. 15, delivering the 2024 Benjamin & Elaine Whiteley Distinguished Lecture. The poet spent time with students throughout the day, reciting his work and sharing his experiences as an artist.
Artist ‘highlights injustice of Black, brown people’
Scott Korb, director of Pacific’s Master of Fine Arts in Writing program and moderator for the lecture, spoke to the way bringing prominent artists to campus helps dissolve the elusiveness of artistry, bridging gaps between creatives and aspiring writers.
“Too often, authors themselves become mysterious figures — authorities abstracted behind the books and other works they produce. Bringing writers face to face with the community demystifies that,” Korb said.
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