SLLC Hosts Poetry in Conversation Event in Honor of Lauretta Clough
October 10, 2024
Family, friends, faculty and staff come together for the inaugural poetry reading in Clough’s memory.
By Lauren Hargrave
The School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (SLLC) hosted its first Poetry in Conversation: Inaugural Event in Honor of Lauretta Clough on September 19, 2024 in the newly dedicated Lauretta Clough Community Room.
A pillar of the SLLC community for 25 years, Lauretta Clough passed away on September 21, 2023. She served as associate director for academic administration from 2012 until 2023, and is remembered by friends and colleagues for her kindness and compassion. A published poet, Clough was known for her love of poetry.
Poetry in Conversation featured a roundtable poetry reading and discussion led by professors and poets Fatemeh Keshavarz, Lillian-Yvonne Bertram and Juan Carlos Quintero-Herencia. Topics included the power of poetry today, what poetry means in the modern world and the role of AI in poetry and art. Khaled Mattawa, Libyan poet and a renowned Arab-American writer, led a keynote talk and poetry Q&A.
Eyda Merediz, associate director for graduate academic affairs and strategic initiatives, shared how the event sought to honor Clough by making poetry relevant by featuring diverse poetic voices and perspectives. “Poetic voices ranged from language playfulness and rebelliousness to engaging new technologies to the painful experiences of oppression and migration,” said Merediz.
"Poetry in Conversation gave us time to be together to bond and heal through poetry. This was very appropriate for celebrating Lauretta," said Keshavarz, professor and director of the Roshan Institute for Persian Studies. A poet herself, Keshavarz closed out the event by reading an original poem dedicated to Clough.
Photo of Juan Carlos Quintero-Herencia taken by Max Hardman.