UMN Partners Spread the Power of Literature Beyond Campus
Imagine an event that, in just two short years, has had a profound influence on nearly 1,000 Minnesota high school students and more than 50 of their high school teachers. Such is the case of an annual literary festival hosted by the University of Minnesota (UMN) Department of English under the auspices of the Walter Nathan Literary Initiatives, made possible by donors Mike and Julie Kaplan.
The festival provides high school students who are enrolled in UMN College in the Schools (CIS) literature courses with a special opportunity to read the work of and engage (in real life!) with celebrated authors and poets.
Launched in 2022 with a program featuring former US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, the festival is just one aspect of the Initiatives—a fund that supports and helps to facilitate literary relationships between the University and its communities, and strengthens ties between the Department of English and local high schools.
The Festival
This year’s festival hosted visiting writer Ada Limón, the current and 24th Poet Laureate of the United States, who also is a 2023 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship (known colloquially as the "Genius Grant").
During her visit in early November, Limón addressed more than 550 high school students enrolled in UMN Twin Cities literature courses through CIS, some who traveled more than an hour to attend the on-campus event. Limón also read from her most recent collection, The Hurting Kind (Milkweed Editions, 2022), a book the students were gifted (courtesy of the Walter Nathan Literary fund) and assigned as part of their courses.
The festival has much to offer, suggests Professor Katherine Scheil, the faculty coordinator for CIS literature courses.
She cites not only “the amazing opportunity for students to meet first-rate writers like Tracy K. Smith and Ada Limón,” but also the support for “the work that high school teachers do in their classrooms, particularly with budget cuts, pressures from schools to trim costs, and shrinking resources for cultural events."
Chelsie Thielen, a teacher at North Lakes Academy agrees. “Bringing Ms. Limón to the UMN gave these high school seniors an incredible first exposure to college life. Many of them are first-generation students taking their first college class, which is something both incredibly real and at the same time, kind of magical for them … The students wanted to go to this reading so badly that when we didn't have the funding for a bus, they asked if they could drive there themselves.”
“The best comment I got from a student was this: ‘I write. Limón writes. I realize I should've known this already, but seeing that she was a real person made me feel like I can be a real writer too’."
For CIS Program Director Emily Hanson, the festival underscores the value of longstanding, evolving partnerships. “Expanded support from the Department of English and the Walter Nathan Initiatives has further demonstrated the powerful experiences that universities can create by connecting high school and college through concurrent enrollment partnerships like CIS.”
The Contest
In addition to the much-appreciated presentation by Limón, another festival moment stood out. When winners of the Walter Nathan Poetry Contest for high school students read their work, the collective support from the audience of teachers and peers was effusive. What’s more, the contest received more than three times the number of submissions this year than last.
And it's not often a budding writer has the opportunity to receive feedback from, and read alongside a US Poet Laureate. But that’s precisely what the first-, second-, and third-place contest winners received.
“I think anytime you give students a voice it is important,” says Nikki Schiffler, a teacher at Richfield High School. “That plus having feedback from peers as well as published poets is priceless. You can see their nerves turn to pride right on the stage.”
Judged by award-winning poet Michael Kleber-Diggs, the contest winners include:
- First Place: “hymnal of migrating geese” by Elliot Mevissen, Irondale Senior High School
- Second Place: “Frankenstein” by Jordan Humphrey, White Bear Lake High School
- Third Place: “Defenseless” by Sabrina Bell, Roseville Area High School
Centennial High School teacher Gail Erickson notes, “The best comment I got from a student was this: ‘I write. Limón writes. I realize I should've known this already, but seeing that she was a real person made me feel like I can be a real writer too.’ This comment validated all the work it took to be able to take my students on the field trip.”
The Books
While public recognition and the excitement of meeting an accomplished artist are obvious gifts, it is often the quieter circumstances that evoke the greatest joy.
According to Scheil, “One of the most significant and meaningful aspects of the Walter Nathan Literary Initiative is the gift of a book to each student enrolled in the CIS literature [course] ... This year we ordered 900 copies of The Hurting Kind, and I have only one copy left (my own). Every other copy is in the hands of a student and/or high school teacher.”
“Having their own copy of a writer’s book made my students feel valued and respected,” says Allison Millea, a teacher at Burnsville High School.
“Many students hugged their books to their chests upon receipt,” adds Mara Corey, a teacher at Irondale High School. “I saw them interacting with the copy more powerfully because they felt free to underline, star, write in the margins rather than just use Post-Its.”
Other teachers saw students following along in their books as Limón read.
“This initiative has allowed for literature to be a living, breathing experience for my students,” says Richfield’s Schiffler. “So often what we read in school is removed from students because the authors have either passed on or are such icons that they live in some mythical land of literature. Having the author of a text we study has made words and literature real.”
The Teachers
Following the event, teachers were asked: “How has the Walter Nathan Literary Initiative been meaningful to you as a teacher?” Big school, small school; public school, private school; urban school, rural school—the response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic.
"This initiative has allowed for literature to be a living, breathing experience for my students."
“This has been an amazing program. My students have loved coming to the University and having the honor of hearing these great writers,” says Tiffany Joseph, a teacher at Benilde-St. Margaret's. “It brings literature and scholarship to life in a way that is impossible in just the classroom environment. As a teacher, I love feeling part of the literary world. Sometimes as high school teachers we feel very isolated.”
North Lakes Academy’s Thielen shares: “My students live in a semi-rural area; for those who enjoy art and literature, there are not many opportunities to attend cultural events such as poetry readings, or to meet writers and artists … This was so effortless for me—I could give them this incredible thing and we didn't have to scrounge up funding to be able to make it happen. It happened FOR us, and that was incredible.”
Learn more about the course Introduction to Literature: Poetry, Drama, Narrative.
Photo of Ada Limón courtesy James Napoli
Anastasia Faunce is a writer and content strategist with the College of Continuing and Professional Studies, covering the College’s personal enrichment, pre-college, ESL, and long term care programs, as well as its engagement efforts. The former director of several CCAPS programs, she worked as the director of public relations for the Minneapolis College of Art and Design prior to joining the University. Connect with her via LinkedIn.
