During the spring 14-week semester, Guilford’s English and Creative Writing Department collaborated with The Greenleaf Review to host a poetry reading featuring Guilford College and UNCG poetry instructor Shawn Delgado.
On March 13 at 6 p.m., the East Gallery of Founders Hall filled with Guilford students, professors, and poetry readers as Delgado quietly reviewed his catalog of poetry before the event. During the hour-long reading, he shared years’ worth of poetry that covered topics ranging from identity, to global and international issues, to his experiences through life as a writer and poet.
Delgado’s biography, which appears in his poetry chapbook “A Sky Half-Dismantled,” introduces readers to a poet and teacher from Marietta, Georgia. He received his bachelor’s degree in science, technology and culture from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Delgado then went on to earn his MFA in creative writing from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His work has appeared in the Connotation Press, Cortland Review, storySouth and Terminus.
Delgado’s witty, comical and relatable poetry kept the audience engaged, as many who attended the event laughed, clapped and nodded along.
“As someone who is a fellow poet and was in his poetry workshop class a few semesters ago, it was interesting to see and hear Shawn as a poet himself,” said Max Bender, a creative writing major at Guilford. Delgado’s connection to Guilford was clear, as former and current students of his showed up to offer support.
“Many of his poems personify objects and physical pieces of the world to give them life and to make you care about his words,” Bender said. “It was easy to fall into his prose with his humor and his ability to paint a delicate but honest picture of the world.”
Many in the audience might agree with poems like “Poetic License,” where Delgado equates your “poetic license” to a license you would use in the real world.
“It’s easy to get your poetic license, just announce that you are, in fact, a poet…” Delgado read from his poem. “You don’t need a card. No credit check. It’s easier than joining the library or buying a ballpoint.”
He continued by listing the rights one has as a poet, sending waves of laughter through the crowd.
Using humorous transitions and sometimes small explanations of the next piece of work on his roster, Delgado continued into his next poem of choice.
A poem titled “Hasta Siempre” elicited positive reactions from the audience as he read it. This poem reflected on the Spanish phrase in comparison to life and how we view “forever.”
“Hasta Siempre” also references Delgado’s Cuban heritage, a theme in several of the works he shared. Many of the poems he read followed a theme of critique and commentary about global and international issues through poetry.
One such poem, titled “Stalin,” is a good example of how Delgado incorporates real-world issues with historical context in his poetry.
After an hour of poetry, comedy and crowd interaction, Delgado concluded his reading with the poem “Intellectual Property” and thanked attendees for their support. The audience erupted in applause, then conversation about the poems read by the author, as attendees gathered to pick up copies of his chapbook.
