Lola Haskins gives emotional performance

    Acclaimed poet and writer, Lola Haskins dazzled a crowd of faculty and students in the Arts and Sciences Auditorium Sept. 12 with her heartfelt verse and touching stories. 
    Haskins is the author of  “Desire Lines:  New and Selected Poems,” excerpts from which she read Tuesday.  Her numerous accomplished works have appeared in several different publications including The Christian Science Monitor and The London Review of Books. 
    Haskin’s visit was part of the creative writing program’s Visitor Writer’s Series.  Dr. Martin Lammon is part of the group that meets and decides who to bring in a year in advance.  Lammon has known Haskins for 15 years and has always loved her work.
 “She’s someone I’ve wanted to bring to campus for a long time. I’ve always been fascinated,” Lammon said.
    Fears of a low turnout were quickly put to rest as the audience shuffled in.
    “I was very satisfied and amazed at how many people were there,” Lammon said.  “Because of the university’s mission, there’s more expectation for students to attend these cultural events and appreciate them.”
    Nicole Brooks, a sophomore mass communication major was in attendance at the reading.
“It was pretty packed. It was a lot different than I thought it would be, I’d never been to a professional poetry reading,” Brooks said.
    The slender frame of Haskins, masked by the subtlety of her black dress, created a façade of modesty for the poet, that is until she spoke.
    “You could tell she was very passionate about what she does, obviously, she was experienced,” Brooks said.
    Haskins did not read her lines from paper; she recited her poetry from memory as if speaking right from her heart. She invited the crowd into her life and spoke on a direct, personal level. 
    Brittany Sansom, a sophomore creative writing major attended the reading after listening to Haskins in her Intermediate Creative Writing class.
    “I had chills, it was really cool.  She was very intimate,” Sansom said. “I know about her life just from her poetry.”
    Haskins shared personal stories about her family and growing up.  She spoke of her interest in playing the piano and of unknowingly assisting a burglar steal her television.     
    On a most intimate level, she spoke of heartbreak.
Her piece entitled “38” was strikingly effective. It took her over 30 years to write. Breaking her routine of reciting from memory, Haskins read from her paper, often grasping the podium as she spoke.
    Her interaction with the audience was perfectly fitting and her stage presence was confident.   At times she would tilt her head to one side and sway back and forth.   “She really worked the stage with her subtle theatrics,” Sansom said. “She’s gracefully melodic.  Her voice and her mannerisms as a whole were just interesting.”   
    The relaxed environment added to the experience for Brooks.  She heard about the evening from a professor and went for the extra credit.  She has no regrets about her attendance.  “It was very personal.  I think poetry is music,” Brooks said. Lammon said that more students are coming to these kinds of events because they are being encouraged to.
    “I think it reflected well on the school,” Lammon said.  As a creative writing major, Sansom had a special interest in Haskin’s performance.  “Her perfected craft is something that writers, particularly poets and people who have to speak in crowds, can really respect and admire,” Sansom said.         “It makes me look at my own stuff and it’s just enlightening.”
Brooks walked away from the evening looking back with positive thoughts.   “My favorite part overall is that she liked to talk about herself,” Brooks said. “ It lets us get to know her as a person so we could know where the poems came from.” 

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 22 2006. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry