PORT ANGELES — “Humanities in the Classroom: Is This a Safe and Respectful Place to Share Our Stories?” is the topic of a community forum and poetry performance Tuesday at the Longhouse at Peninsula College, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
During the free event from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., Makah tribal members Zak Greene and John Pritchard III will offer their poetry.
While the forum is inspired by Peninsula College’s humanities courses — in literature, music, drama and languages — it’s open to the community at large, said professor Kate Reavey.
This spring at the Longhouse, Reavey and colleague Matt Teorey have led a “learning community,” a class funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant.
In the class, titled “The Promise of Democracy and Our American Experience,” students explore American literature, democracy and how to build understanding among cultures.
Poetry performances
At Tuesday’s forum, people will be invited to write about and discuss these ideas, and “then everyone is welcome to stay for the poetry,” Reavey said.
She and Teorey asked Green and Pritchard to perform because, Reavey said, “they are extraordinarily good poets of the spoken word genre.
“They are doing work that I find very cutting-edge,” in the same vein as hip-hop artists such as Macklemore, the Seattle rapper known for his social commentary.
Through forums such as this, Reavey added, she and Teorey hope to provide space for people from all backgrounds to speak out.
“Only if every voice truly does count can we move forward,” she said.
For more information, phone the Longhouse at 360-417-7992 or email longhouse@pencol.edu.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
