Reimaging Women’s Voices in the Next Centennial: Untold Stories of Female Poets

Document Type

Creative works or constructive object presentation

Campus where you would like to present

Ellensburg

Event Website

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source

Start Date

16-5-2021

End Date

22-5-2021

Keywords

Feminism, Multimedia, Poetry

Abstract

When Amanda Gorman took to the podium during the 2021 Presidential Inauguration, a fresh voice lifted off the page and onto the world’s collective screen. The ability to express thoughts and feelings through verse and mixed media provides poets a new opportunity for greater exposure to redefine female poetic boundaries and themes. Combining the written word with video and social media, female poets are forging a new aesthetic. Scrolling through YouTube, or TEDx, the female poet’s voice is empowering, uplifting, and speaking truth to power! Voices like Dr. Maya Angelou and Britta B talk directly to other young women. “Still I Rise,” written by Angelou in 1978, gains a new audience with video by speaking words directly to over four million viewers. With the use of technology, poetry has grown increasingly accessible. Poetry is no longer contained exclusively in academic halls or validated by middle-aged white males. Streaming services are exploding with poetry in video form, also known as videopoetry, video-visual poetry, and media poetry. We will explore how the use of video, has given female artist’s a new modality to express themselves. Three such artists will show their original videopoetry and discuss how social media has inspired their work. Poetry in this form can encourage closed mouths to speak their truths, and, in Gorman’s words, “When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid, the new dawn blooms as we free it for there is always light if only we’re brave enough to see it.”

Faculty Mentor(s)

Pedro Cavazos

Department/Program

English

Additional Mentoring Department

https://cwu.studentopportunitycenter.com/reimaging-womens-voices-in-the-next-centennial-untold-stories-of-female-poets/

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May 16th, 12:00 PM May 22nd, 12:00 PM

Reimaging Women’s Voices in the Next Centennial: Untold Stories of Female Poets

Ellensburg

When Amanda Gorman took to the podium during the 2021 Presidential Inauguration, a fresh voice lifted off the page and onto the world’s collective screen. The ability to express thoughts and feelings through verse and mixed media provides poets a new opportunity for greater exposure to redefine female poetic boundaries and themes. Combining the written word with video and social media, female poets are forging a new aesthetic. Scrolling through YouTube, or TEDx, the female poet’s voice is empowering, uplifting, and speaking truth to power! Voices like Dr. Maya Angelou and Britta B talk directly to other young women. “Still I Rise,” written by Angelou in 1978, gains a new audience with video by speaking words directly to over four million viewers. With the use of technology, poetry has grown increasingly accessible. Poetry is no longer contained exclusively in academic halls or validated by middle-aged white males. Streaming services are exploding with poetry in video form, also known as videopoetry, video-visual poetry, and media poetry. We will explore how the use of video, has given female artist’s a new modality to express themselves. Three such artists will show their original videopoetry and discuss how social media has inspired their work. Poetry in this form can encourage closed mouths to speak their truths, and, in Gorman’s words, “When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid, the new dawn blooms as we free it for there is always light if only we’re brave enough to see it.”

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2021/CAH/8