Thursday, Nov. 16, an event called “Night of Nicholls Poets” took place in the Mary and Al Danos Theatre in Talbot Hall.
The readings began with Jack B. Bedell, who served as Louisiana Poet Laureate from 2017-2019. He read story-like pieces that centered around his children, questions of hope and music.
Next, Glenn J. Bergeron II introduced the audience to his two sons and his devotion to the Catholic faith. He then read “Our Lady of Grace,” which was centered around his sons, “Black Mountains,” which was about loss, and “Passages,” which told about Bergeron’s time in seminary.
Farren Clark, a professor of speech at Nicholls, approached the pulpit soon after and read his poem “For Our Future,” a passionate homage to Nicholls that was inspired by writer’s block. The poem talked about moving forward despite hard pasts, in context of the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ida.
Though he had a poem placed in the chapbook, Albert Davis did not read it but instead provided context for it. He had dedicated that poem, “Geneses,” to his friend Roy, with whom he had shared his passion for poetry. After this, he read a different poem of his.
John Doucet, who had been introducing each of the poets, next shared his own work. Doucet is the Dean for the College of Sciences and Technology, and passion for biology was shown through his fascination with Charles Darwin, who was the subject in most of his poems. Each of his pieces were written in a short, strict form.
Ashley Goedker, a Nicholls creative writing professor, read poetry centering around her family. She introduced her father, stepfather and brother through her emotional and vivid pieces.
Jackie Watts Jackson, without much introduction, began reading a humorous poem about Cajun French called “Frenglish.” She then read “Letter to my Grandchildren,” a piece of encouragement and wisdom, and ended her reading with “Sweet Wind,” a poem about her mother.
David Middleton, the current poet-in-residence emeritus at Nicholls, read poetry that centered around education. He began with “The Scholar,” which focused on what goes into the study of poetry.
Erick Piller, a professor of English at Nicholls and the co-director of the writing program, read his piece “Poetry.” It was a long poem filled with the emotion following the “death” of poetry. He then read a shorter piece called “The Fisherman.”
The night concluded with poetry by Jaclyn Stephens, a Nicholls creative writing professor. Each of her poems were braided narratives centered around family, friends and neighbors. For example, “Word Problems for Active Shooter Drills” was about her children as well as her friends’ children.
