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Two international writers visit Youngstown schools
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
When Ashley Kidd feels upset or sad, she often engages in what for her is the most therapeutic means of dealing with such emotions: writing poetry.
“To me, it’s like talking to a friend or a peer,” the East High School senior said. “It’s a great way to relieve stress.”
No traces of sadness could be found in Ashley, however, as she listened to two international writers during one in a series of poetry readings and discussions they gave Wednesday morning at the East Side school on Bennington Avenue.
Addressing the students and their teachers were Raul Hernandez, a Cuban author who has published 14 books of poetry, children’s literature and fiction in the U.S. and Cuba, along with D.M. Aderibigbe, a poet from Lagos, Nigeria.
Hosting the writers were the Etruscan Press and Youngstown State University’s Poetry Center Outreach program.
Hernandez and Aderibigbe also conducted similar programs Tuesday at Youngstown Early College and Wednesday afternoon at Chaney High School. In addition, they plan to attend discussions and gatherings at YSU and in the community.
Aderibigde studied at the University of Lagos and earned a master’s in fine arts degree from Boston University. Many of his works have appeared in the Colorado Review, the Notre Dame Review and other journals in the U.S. and Nigeria.
Hernandez studied philology at the University of Havana, served as a professor of writing and composition and as director of a publishing house called Unicornio. He is a news editor for Telemundo 51, a prominent Miami-based Hispanic TV network.
Philology is a branch of knowledge that explores the structure, historical development and relationships of languages.
During one session Wednesday at East High, Hernandez read aloud in Spanish a poem by a Cuban writer named Roberto Manzano, titled “The Gift,” before Tina Banks, an East High English teacher, read it to the audience in English and a discussion with the students followed. “The Gift” is filled with natural imagery and essentially talks about the color of leaves, the beauty of moonlight and the many fragrances that nature provides.
Aderibigde, who grew up in a cramped, single-parent household, read to the students and staff a poem about domestic abuse before seeking the students’ reactions. He also called the art of writing “productive,” saying that it can be therapeutic, fulfilling and insightful on many levels.
“I write because it brings the past to life, and it helps people who are going through difficulties,” he explained.