“A Voice That Advocates for All of Us”

Award-winning poet and Visiting Assistant Professor of English Nate Marshall read and performed at in Korb Classroom last  week the work one critic has called “a testament to home, to struggle, and to survival—a reminder of the places most people would rather forget.”

“What I love about Nate’s work, both as an editor and a writer, is that he strives for words with relevance,” Associate Professor Eric Freeze said, introducing the poet. “Nate comes from a tradition of activist poetry. His is a voice that advocates for us—all of us—who are suffering on the margins of society and his work provides a roadmap for ways to live in this world with all its contradictions and injustices laid bare.”

Marshall read from Wild Hundreds, his debut collection of poetry and winner of the 2014 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize, as well as from some new work.

“Wabash is a special place, a beautiful place,” Marshall said after thanking the sponsors of his reading, the English department and the Malcolm X Institute. “I’ve been really moved by how this place has embraced me, continues to embrace me.”

You can hear Marshall read from his work and reflect on his writing and life in a Wabash On My Mind podcast.

See more photos here. 

And listen to an NPR review of Wild Hundreds here.