Symposium

I forgot my phone to take a picture of Patricia speaking, but I felt that this picture was relevant because of the mention of the picture her husband showed her. That picture was of a dog on a power line because of the high water levels. She said that she normally didn't really understand animal people, however, this picture made her realize that some people consider their pets part of the family. I have a definite soft spot for animals, (I sometimes still cry when the dogs die in movies), thusly the passage about Luther B. was one of my favorites. Hearing her read the passages gave me a much better comprehension of what she was trying to convey. In retrospect I was reading the poems with a completely different rhythm and tone in certain cases. One of my favorite parts was her opening poem dedicated to the 5th grade class that she taught. This made me respect her on a more personal level, because it showed a little bit of her character. The poem itself also reminded me of how when I was younger I wanted to be able to express myself, and get the same joy from poems that other people did. Unfortunately, I was neither able to fully gain the ability to write poetry, nor an adequate appreciation of it. Listening to Patricia Smith present her own poetry actually gave me a much deeper appreciation of this book, and kept my interest entirely.