Willie Perdomo Gives Reading
By Moksha Akil
As a part of the celebration for Hispanic Heritage Month, the Office of Multicultural Affairs organized a reading with English teacher and published poet Willie Perdomo. Students came together under a tent and drank hot chocolate, chai and coffee while listening to Perdomo’s writing.
When Interim Dean of Multicultural Affairs Sherry Hernandez asked Perdomo to read his work with the students, he was glad to share with the school’s affinity groups and the community at large. “I was honored when she asked me,” he said.
Hernandez hoped to honor Latinx faculty for Hispanic Heritage Month. “We wanted an event that would bring our community together that would celebrate, give space and honor our Hispanic and Latinx members in our community,” she said. “We have incredible faculty and staff in our community, one of which is Mr. Perdomo.”
Perdomo read from the most recent anthology of poetry that he edited, LatiNext, and his own book, The Crazy Bunch, which both have themes of culture and more specifically, hip-hop. These themes are part of the reason why OMA chose Perdomo. “The purpose of the event was to not only celebrate members of the Latinx community but to give Mr. Perdomo a chance to share his work with students, talk about his journey and how his heritage and culture influences his writing and everyday life,” OMA Administration Intern Danique Montique said.
The theme of culture was appreciated by the students. Upper Juliette Ortiz explained how listening to a Latinx poet reminded her of home. “I love being able to show my support when that representation Mr. Perdomo provides makes me feel more at home at Exeter,” she said. “Mr. Perdomo is an incredible speaker and has a way of engaging the audience, especially with his more lyrical and rhythmic poems.”
Perdomo’s style of poetry incorporates hip-hop elements that people found very engaging. “I found it to be really eye opening,” upper Kira Ferdyn said. “The poetry employed many different and compelling elements and it was cool to hear the different styles used throughout the pieces.”
OMA Proctor and upper Siona Jain agreed with Ferdyn. “I think everyone loved Mr. Perdomo’s speaking style, and his intersection of hip hop and poetry. She continued on to say that this was part of the reason why the students received the reading very well,” she said.
During the reading, students also learned about Perdomo as a person. “I would like to think the event was more for learning about who Perdomo is and what he values rather than just the skill of writing,” senior Senai Robinson said. “I enjoyed hearing his perspectives and views and the whole night was enjoyable because it was his honest and powerful work.”
OMA will continue to organize events like these for the community, Montique said. “We will...host events that [celebrate] and [uplift] PEA community members and their unique identities and contributions to society,” she said.
Montique also believed that the event was a great success based on a survey sent to participants. “ I hope the event was a great opportunity for the PEA community to come together and celebrate the Latinx community here as well as our very own faculty member,” she said. “Sometimes we forget the superheroes in our own homes and towns and I just wanted to remind folks that we have faulty members here doing amazing things.”
Students were able to learn about Latinx culture, how to incorporate rhythm into poetry through Perdomo and learned about Perdomo himself, however he wanted the students to appreciate more than this. Perdomo concluded, “[I hope that the students got a] sense that identity, memory, and political views can be explored, but not detached, from art.”