On March 6, Stanford’s third annual Poetry Live! transformed the stage into a space for passion, heritage, and storytelling. The event, co-hosted by Jones lecturer Hieu Minh Nguyen and ITALIC lecturer Sam Sax, invited the audience to engage “not as readers or as listeners, but as active participants in poetry.” The audience fully embraced this call, immersing themselves in the evening’s powerful performances.
Throughout the night, Sax expressed gratitude for the audience’s presence, reinforcing the essence of spoken word—connection and immediacy. The event featured eight student poets from the Stanford Spoken Word Collective, followed by renowned poets Safia Elhillo and Jamila Woods.
Student Poets Set the Tone
The evening opened with the Stanford Spoken Word Collective, a group praised by Sax for their ability to merge the “aesthetic and political” in their poetry. As each student shared their work, themes of language, identity, and relationships emerged. Their rhythmic and impassioned delivery captivated the audience, with lines such as “I’m the victim” and “I sew flowers in my mouth” resonating deeply.
Safia Elhillo Explores Language and Loss
Following the student performances, Nguyen introduced poet Safia Elhillo, reading from her formal biography. Describing herself as “Sudanese by way of Washington D.C.,” Elhillo has authored three books and received numerous literary honors.
During her reading, Elhillo revisited poetry she had written as a Stegner Fellow at Stanford from 2019 to 2021. Her work delved into themes of loss and the complexities of language, posing rhetorical questions like, “How dare I love a word without knowing it in Arabic?”
Elhillo also addressed the war in Sudan, forcing the audience to confront the pain and struggles of those affected. In “Ode to Sudanese Americans,” she reflected on the close-knit nature of the Sudanese American community, writing, “We do not date, because we are probably cousins.”
Jamila Woods Shares Poetry Rooted in History and Identity
Sax, visibly moved after Elhillo’s reading, took the stage again. “I haven’t cried in years, and I just lost my whole self back there,” they said before introducing the night’s final performer, Jamila Woods.
Describing Woods as a musician, former poetry competitor, and a voice “transformational to the history of American letters,” Sax set the stage for a reading that was both heartfelt and thought-provoking.
Woods presented poetry she hopes to release soon, offering the audience an exclusive preview. Her work balanced humor with depth, honoring figures like “Black legends at the beauty shop,” the first Black woman astronaut, and her grandparents’ struggles with dementia. She also touched on the disorienting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, writing about “wishing for another week of weekends” and losing track of time.
Her final poem reflected on years of working with a speech therapist after striving to “sound perfect.” This personal exploration of self-expression and identity shone through in her meticulous reading.
A Powerful Conclusion
As soon as Woods finished, the audience erupted into cheers, rising in a standing ovation for all 10 performers. The night’s poetry was both deeply personal and universally resonant, showcasing diverse experiences while fostering a sense of community.
With powerful performances and an engaged audience, Poetry Live! was more than just an event—it was a celebration of language, identity, and the power of spoken word.
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