The second Main Hall Forum of the school year took place on Thursday, Jan. 16 in Main Hall 201 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. It focused on Patricia Smith’s recent book, “Unshuttered,” which was published in 2023. Described as a, “poet, spoken-word performer, playwright, author, writing teacher and former journalist,” Smith is this term’s speaker for the University Convocation, which will be held on Friday, Jan. 24 at 12:30 p.m. in Memorial Chapel.
Smith’s book “Unshuttered” contains photographs of otherwise unknown Black Americans; the pictures are presented alongside her original poems. Aiming to give voice where there isn’t any, Smith writes the poems from the perspective of the people in the photographs, imagining and exploring their individual stories. Sometimes the poems seem to be coming directly from the people in the photographs, and other times they seem to be about them.
Introduced by Bonnie Glidden Buchanan Professor of English Literature and Associate Professor of English Timothy Spurgin, the forum comprised three sections. The first was a lecture by Associate Professor of History Betsy Schlabach. Among other things, she provided important context on the photographs and their photographers. She also mentioned how, interestingly (although perhaps unsurprisingly), many of the photographers were white men.
The second section of the forum was led by Assistant Professor of English Austin Segrest. After discussing some of Smith’s poetry in general, he passed around select poems along with their photographic inspiration. This part of the forum felt like an English class; everyone broke into pairs and began analyzing. After discussing, professors and students alike shared their thoughts on the poems.
One of the poems we discussed was the title piece, “Unshuttered.” This is also the final piece in the book, and it is the only one unaccompanied by a photograph. As senior Lauren Dahl noted, each line of “Unshuttered” takes words and phrases from the previous poems. So, for example, the first line of “Unshuttered” reads “You damn us with these stoic glimpses. You,”; this echoes the format and language of the first line of the first poem in the book, which reads “You crush me with your damning glimpses, Anna. You,” (Smith).
The third and final section of the forum was led by Assistant Professor of Art History, Curator of the Wriston Art Center Galleries and Museum Studies Interdisciplinary Area Program Director Beth Zinsli. She shared more context on the photographs, as well as a brief history of photography, and ended by opening the floor up to questions.
Although I have yet to read “Unshuttered,” the presentations and discussions from this forum made me want to. I thought the entire forum was wonderful; to me, it highlighted the strengths of the liberal arts as a whole, and of Lawrence University in particular. With three different disciplines coming together, as well as a full lecture hall of faculty, staff and students, the atmosphere felt lively and curious. As we continue on into this next phase full of uncertainty, I hope we can hold onto all this beauty and passion that lives within our small community.