This year’s poetry event took place at RDG Planning Design at 301 Grand Ave. (Photo: Poetry Palooza) By Hailey Evans This past weekend, I was invited to join a dozen other community leaders and poetry lovers in sharing poems during the “My Favorite (Love) Poem Project,” hosted by the local no nprofit group Poetry downtown at RDG Planning Design. Since it was Valentine’s Day, the theme was obviously love, but hearing everyone’s favorite poems reminded me how varied love can be in all its forms. Some readers honed in on self-love, others on the love of creativity, and others still on love for their culture, their family, of resilience or resistance. I asked the speakers to summarize their remarks in just a few sentences, below. Adreain Henry, president of Mercy College of Health Sciences, kicked off the afternoon program and set the bar high by reading — and singing — “Love” by Musiq Soulchild, while he riffed on a piano keyboard. By the end, he had the audience singing along. Abena Imhotep, author, advocate, podcast host and founder of Sankofa Literary Empowerment Group, chose Wole Soyinka’s “To My First White Hairs” because “it recognizes aging as an archive written on the body,” she said. “Soyinka interrogates time, witness and continuity. I — a writer — was seen.” Daniel Zinnel, CEO of Proteus, read “The Triumph of Freedom” by William Lloyd Garrison. Zinnel noted that he’d chosen the poem before realizing the theme was love, but explained there is love to be found in the poem all the same. Garrison edited the 19th-century abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and his poem reflects his compassion for humankind and his unwavering commitment to freedom and equality. Zinnel suggested the poem’s sentiments are still relevant and timely. Dwana Bradley chose to read “What is Love?” by Helen Steiner Rice. The poem links true love with the Christian god’s divine power and connects the two as something wholesome, inspirational and transcendent. Bradley, who owns Iowa Urban Media and publishes Urban Experience Magazine, said her faith means a lot to her. She is often disillusioned or disappointed by how many people in the media or positions of power claim to be Christian but don’t seem to be embody the true messages of love in the Bible. She said that’s why the poem resonated with her. I was next in the lineup, and I chose “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost. Like Zinnel, I chose it before realizing the theme was love, but I still found a connection. To me it’s a reminder that even in dark moments there can be beauty, and there are things and people in our lives that make it possible to keep going. It’s not a love poem per se, but there is a tenderness in it for the world and for the journey of life that connects us all. Heather Schott, director of diversity, equity and inclusion for the Krause Group, read “To Be Of Use” by Marge Piercy. Schott’s daughter, an English literature major at Iowa State University, helped her choose it. “Poetry has never been my natural language, but in choosing to stretch myself toward what she loves, I found both a beautiful poem and a deeper connection to her talent,” Schott said. Myrna Johnson, executive director of Iowa Public Radio, chose to read “The Sycamore” by Wendell Berry. “For me,” she said, “this poem is about mature love that is shaped by the scrapes and scratches we endure in life.” Those scrapes and scratches, she added, often grow into beautiful, deep wisdom. Samantha Mesa, a reporter and anchor at WHO-TV, opened up about recent health challenges that made her appreciate basic abilities that many take for granted, like hearing. In her poem, “The Gift of Listening” by Mike Sansone, the poet articulates the difference between listening and understanding, a theme Mesa related to her work as a journalist, which requires talking with people who have different viewpoints. Michael Egel, general and artistic director of the Des Moines Metro Opera, injected some humor into the event with “Litany” by former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins. The poem pokes fun at the trope of comparing a beloved to various objects in hopes of impressing them and winning their affections. “Collins has fun with love poem traditions, using exaggeration and silliness, and that really resonated with me,” Egel said. “The use of metaphors in this humorous way makes us question how useful these traditions of comparison really are.” Tar Macias, CEO and head of strategic partnerships for Hola America Media Group, read “Hombres Necios,” a 17th-century poem by Mexican poet Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Macias read the poem first in Spanish, then in English. The poem’s title translates loosely to “Foolish Men” and was ahead of its time for its feminist perspective. Mike Draper, Raygun’s founder and owner, shared “The Flattered Lightning Bug” by Don Marquis, who inspired e.e. cummings to write in lowercase, something Draper himself also tends to do. He also noted how Marquis’ use of characters, like the cockroach he claimed penned this poem, inspired Raygun’s cast of imaginary designers whose ideas land on shirts and buttons and socks. As Draper put it, “That’s what I love about the creative world: It’s a constant passing of the baton from one creative to the next.” Suzanna de Baca, CEO of Storyboard Advisors, closed out the program with a reading of “I Am Offering This Poem” by Jimmy Santiago Baca. They aren’t related, but she did say the name partially drew her in. She also chose her poem for its exploration of a lost love. Over the last few years, she’s endured the loss of several loved ones, and this poem spoke to her feelings of grief and resilience. ...read more read less