Experimental Poetry Seminar Has Surprisingly Fruitful Class Session on 4/20

Leslie Martinez’s seminar course on avant-garde experimental poetry had a regularly scheduled class session on April 20th. Professor Martinez had no special expectations.

In a shocking turn of events, the class proved to be one of the most insightful and probing discussions of the semester.

“There was one moment where a student asked ‘Isn’t it crazy that words?’ and it felt like we really got at something there,” Martinez said. “We rarely stop to think about how truly unbelievable it is that words.”

After reading a poem about nature, one student began to speak passionately about fish. "He was talking at such length about fish and how odd it is that they can breathe underwater and how he feels bad for fish that get caught and eaten," Martinez said. "He became so moved, that he trailed off in the middle of a sentence. It was the most engaged I've seen him yet this semester." 

Aside from a few students who briefly fell asleep, the class was engaged for the entire three hour session.

“We had to take a couple snack breaks, but it was worth it,” Martinez said. “Also, is it allergy season or something?”