Dozens of people sat around the International House Basement on Monday night to hear an array of languages and voices at the Foreign Language Poetry Reading. "We have often had a crowd too large to hold in here, and this year was no different," said professor Colin Dickson.
The tradition of the foreign language reading, sponsored by the modern foreign language department, began over thirty years ago.
Professor Kelly Meyer explained that its intention has always been to "expose the many cultures and traditions of the linguistic communities on campus and give the Washington College community a chance to realize how many traditions are represented here."
Poems were read in languages ranging from German to Finnish to Japanese. There were eight languages total, and all the poems exhibited a different theme.
Unlike the past years when the reading was held in the fall, this reading had a much different atmosphere. Dickson described the poems read as much less serious and long, and much more alive.
Along with the diversity in language was diversity in presentation.
The Japanese 102 and 202 classes created a performance piece for the poems that they read, one of which was entitled "September 11, 3001," that involved students in homemade costumes fighting enemies drawn on poster board.
The audience laughed as the short play was enacted before them, completely in Japanese. The class ended their performance with a haiku by Japanese poet Bashoo.
Having poems read in a language that most of the audience cannot understand gives the poetry a new meaning and a new life. Dickson explains that the audience must "enjoy the sounds and rhythms of the poetry and not the intellectual side [of it]" when hearing a poem in a foreign tongue.
Senior Katie Kolacki, who read a poem in German, chose her piece for its linguistic appeal.
"I picked my poem because it has four different voices ... and it adds a dramatic element to the poem," Kolacki said. Dramatic elements such as these are necessary when an audience hears a poem simply for its rhythms and not it's meaning.
After two sets and a short intermission, the reading ended and students remained to mingle and discuss the experience.
Ambika Vishwanath appreciated the diversity and voices of the poems read: "I think it's nice to listen to all of these wonderful languages. It definitely brings diversity to the college and broadens the mind."
Student Tom Nichols agreed and said, "It was a culturally enriching experience for all."
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