Poetry is alive and well at the University of South Florida, where the Garry Fleming poetry series continues to inspire students and community members alike. This enduring legacy was sparked by a transformative $600,000 donation from poet and artist Garry Fleming in 2005. Two decades later, the USF Humanities Institute and the Michael Kuperman Memorial Poetry Library continue to bring Fleming’s vision to life by inviting world-renowned poets to inspire students to pursue their passion for writing.
In previous years, the Humanities Institute hosted poets such as Pulitzer Prize-winner Jericho Brown—author of “The Tradition” (2019) and “The New Testament” (2014), NY Times bestseller Aimee Nezhukumatathil—author of “World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies,” “Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments” (2020), and “Lucky Fish” (2011); and Chen Chen—author of “When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities” (2017) and “Your Emergency Has Experienced an Emergency” (2022).
Since partnering with the Michael Kuperman Memorial Library and establishing the series in Fleming’s name, the institute welcomed award-winning poet and essayist Ocean Vuong—author of “Time Is a Mother” (2022) and “Night Sky with Exit Wounds” (2016)—to a packed auditorium.
“It was incredible to look out and see a room filled to capacity for a poetry reading,” said Elizabeth Kicak, director of the Humanities Institute. “Vuong is an inspiration to so many readers and writers. To bring the literary community together to enjoy such a unique and moving voice is very special.”
And the series is just getting started.
Poet Alison C. Rollins will be at USF on Monday, February 3rd at 6:00 PM.
Poet Paul Hlava Ceballos will be at USF on Tuesday, February 18th at 6:00 PM.
Poet Dana Levin will be at USF on Thursday, April 3rd at 6:00 PM.
This year, poets Alison C. Rollins—author of “Black Bell” and “Library of Small Catastrophes”, Paul Hlava Ceballos—author of “banana [ ]”, and Dana Levin—author of “Now Do You Know Where You Are”—will be visiting USF’s Tampa campus to share their craft with students and the community. These poets were all handpicked by the Humanities Institute, the Michael Kuperman Memorial Library and the students in the Creative Writing Student Group.
“Each poet on this year’s lineup is a compelling voice in contemporary poetry,” Kicak explained. “These are influential writers from a variety of backgrounds that should offer something inspiring to everyone.”
With time, Kicak and Natalie Scenters-Zapico, founding director of the Michael Kuperman
Memorial Library, hope the event will become an anticipated annual gathering in the
community that leaves attendees with a deeper appreciation for the written word.
“So many people think they need to ‘figure out’ poetry and only view it through the
lens of their high school literature class,” Kicak said. “When we let go of the expectation
to ‘figure out’ a poem, we can simply revel in the beauty and music of the language.”
“Poetry is vital as a counter to the rapid, fast-paced, consumer-driven culture we live in today because it forces us to slow down, read in a circular manner, and gives importance to the often mundane, but vitally important, dailiness of our lives,” Scenters-Zapico said.
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