First Year Seminar Student Poetry Exhibit Celebrating National Poetry Month, April 1st – April 30th

In the First Year Seminar, The Art of Expression: Cultivating Creativity for Balance, Growth, and Community, students explore how creative expression contributes to personal and intellectual growth, meaningful life work, and stronger communities. Throughout the semester, they study and discuss various aspects of the creative process, and produce individual works of art.

The “I Am From…” poem* is a reflection on childhood and upbringing, and how race, ethnicity, and cultural backgrounds shape individuals and their views of the U.S. Writing a poem like this can be a powerful tool for self-reflection, and reading others’ poems can foster greater understanding and appreciation of the diversity of our Xavier community. Students were challenged to be playful with descriptive language, thoughtful in their choice of memories, and honest in their messages.

*adapted from Beverly Tatum’s The Five Minute Poem, used in Audrey Calloway and Tracey DuEst’s 2020 Intergroup Discourse Workshop at Xavier.

Professor Madeleine Mitchell and the FYS Art of Expression students would like to thank the Xavier Library Staff and Makerspace for hosting this exhibit.