Arts in April Blog

Last Thursday, as a part of Arts in April here at the college, Iranian-American Poet Roger Sederat came to do a reading on his poetry and a question and answer session with students and professors.

I will be the first to admit that upon hearing this is what we were doing for my 11 o'clock literature class last Thursday, I was instantly considering who I would text, what blogs I would read, and who I would try to sit next to. To most who know me and my characteristics this is par for the course. But, to shock the masses, my phone didn't leave my pocket till the very end when I had to check to see what time it was. I'm sure your curious why it didn't move and I'll tell you: Mr. Sederat, while everyone was finding seats, was mentioning how Iranians are playing in the NBA. Now to some, this might sound like a small thing. But, it already proved to me Mr. Sederat understood college students and what they are interested in. As Mr. Sederat read his poetry, he referenced his musical background and how he found a big influence in rap music. To everyone's shock, he was quite familiar with Lil' Wayne, and even threw out this Notorious B.I.G.: "Livin' life without fear / Puttin' 5 karats in my baby girl's ears" which open a lot of eyes, proving that his knowledge of rap went beyond one major artist. I for one, have a strong belief that some college professors do not understand the students they are teaching. Mr. Sederat proved this isn't always true.

His poetry was also very good. Although hard to relate to, it was very interesting to learn he, as a passport holding dual citizen of the US and Iran, he has been advised not to return to Iran for fear of government reaction to his poems (which I am told points to several Iranian government officials).

Once again, the college did a great job of bringing in a speaker that challenged and brightened the horizons of the students.