Kayla Thompson, president of association for African American collegians (AAAC), wrote two poems in a creative writing class her freshman year at Webster. She had the opportunity to read those poems at the African American Read-In on Wednesday, Feb.6.
“Women are made for pots and pans, fried fish, steamed greens, and honeyed ham,” Thompson recited from her poem.
Thompson chose poems that express her feminist views and voice for equality.
“It’s about being a woman and having to put yourself in a certain ideal that doesn’t necessarily fit your personality and having the world telling you to be a certain way,” Thompson said.
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“It’s about being a woman and having to put yourself in a certain ideal that doesn’t necessarily fit your personality and having the world telling you to be a certain way,” Thompson said.
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Thompson, senior Anthropology major, said reading her poetry at the Read-In would be a good start to get her name out there. She hopes to one day publish her poems.
Several students attended the second annual African American Read-In at the Alumni House, hosted by the Multicultural Center and International Student Affairs (MCISA). This was the 24th national annual African American Read-In to help promote literacy as a significant part of Black History month.
“I think it’s important to know that there are other authors, poets and writers and that they have made profound contributions to the world of literature that are of color,” Thompson said.
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To hear Thompson’s reading:
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MCISA invited recognizable members of the university community to read a small selection from a book by an African American author.
Thompson read four poems two by the poet Langston Hughes called “Mother to Son” and “I, too, sing America. She chose Hughes because she grew up reading his poems and because he is from Missouri.
She also read two poems she wrote called, “The Sundress” and “Women are made for pots and pans.”
“It was amazing it was beautiful and the first time I didn’t even know it was her,” Doreen Rwigamba, sophomore, said after hearing Thompson’s reading. “It sounded so professional.”
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