“Everyone is involved, from the black hole to the tree outside,” they said, joking about the seven sponsors for the event ranging from the Hopkins Archaeological Museum to the Office of LGBTQ Life. They then thanked all those who helped plan the event. “I like to start with a poem because that’s the reason I’m here and the reason you’re here,” Laurentiis said cheerfully. This interaction between history and identity was an introduction to the kinds of poems that Laurentiis specializes in. Every sentence was dark, dream-like and informed by references to history. Laurentiis read it quickly, exposing the consonance and sharp syntax throughout the poem. The narrator wrestles with their status in a place through images that are distinctly both Southern and Gothic: crows flying in minstrelsy, being alone in a wet black field, a torn-off head, a sky that mocks with the suggestion of freedom. The title “Conditions for a Southern Gothic” is as descriptive as it can be. Laurentiis, tall with long braids down their back, took the microphone and started with a poem. “Poets are the oracles - they just know things, and though we may not always be able to decode what they said, the oracle, they absolutely know things,” said Associate Director of the Archaelogical Museum Sanchita Balachandran when she introduced poet Rickey Laurentiis to the stage on Tuesday, April 16 in Mudd 26.
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