As a part of their Poets Aloud series, Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures hosted a poetry reading with Pádraig Ó Tuama and Philip Metres at the Carnegie Lecture Hall on Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. What better way to spend a cold and snowy Thursday night than listening to two amazing poets read?
Poetry and I have a complex relationship. I love reading and listening to poetry, but when it comes to writing my own poems, it never ends well. Pádraig Ó Tuama and Philip Metres know how to write. I don’t think any summary can do justice to these poets and their work, but I’ll try. I am truly in awe — and ever so slightly envious — of their control of language and structure. They both push the boundaries of the form, while also crafting something entirely new.
In his collection “Kitchen Hymns,” Pádraig Ó Tuama asks the question: Do you believe in God? This question is left unanswered, but forces the audience to sit with their idea of what belief means. In the crossover I did not know I needed until now, Jesus and Persephone meet at the exit of Hell. The collection captures the range of human emotions — from lust to anger, lament to humor, and so on.
Philip Metres’ “Fugitive/Refuge” follows his refugee ancestors and explores the universal human desire for home. This collection combines the old and the new by experimenting with technique and form, while also confronting current social issues such as “forced migration, climate change, and toxic nationalism.”
After listening to both of them, I had to sit for a minute. One of the best parts of a poetry reading is, once it’s over, you sit there and reconsider everything you have ever known about the world. I could listen to the two of them read and talk about their poems all day, but alas, all good things must come to an end.
Following the reading, Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures Executive Director and fellow poet, Sony Ton-Aime, led a Q&A session with the poets. Funny enough, all three of them considered being priests at one point or another before becoming poets. Suddenly I need to know all about the priest-to-poet pipeline, so if someone could get on that, I’d greatly appreciate it.
This was the last event of the season for the Poets Aloud series, but I highly recommend you check out their other events. On March 3, Cat Bohannon will be discussing her book “Eve,” which considers evolution through the lens of the female body. On March 11, Michael Sawyer will be discussing his book “Sir Lewis,” a biography of motorsports legend Lewis Hamilton. Both Ó Tuama’s and Metres’ poetry collections are available for purchase wherever you purchase your books, but if you would prefer to shop locally, be sure to check out the White Whale Bookstore.
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