脡ireann Lorsung (left) and Chloe MartinezBy Caitlin Antonios
In 五月天视频鈥檚 Hampton Room above Malott Commons on a spring Thursday afternoon, white banners with stark black lettering decorated the stage with phrases like 鈥淭he Mountain is With Us鈥� and 鈥淥 Scrub Jay/O White-Crowned Sparrow鈥� in all caps.听听
Mary Routt Endowed Chair of Writing 脡ireann Lorsung, Chloe Martinez, associate director of programming for the Center for Writing and Public Discourse and lecturer at Claremont McKenna College, and Juju Wang 鈥�28, performed a 10-minute reading of one of Lorsung鈥檚 poems, “Periodic table of the elements.” But the very act of performing the poem together begged the question鈥�did it, in part, become Martinez and Wang鈥檚 poem too?听听
When looking at the poem, italicized lines interrupt the prose. Lorsung revealed them to be quotations from other poets like June Jordan and Walt Whitman and lyrics from songs like the Beach Boys鈥� 鈥淒on鈥檛 Worry Baby.鈥澨�听
鈥淎ll through the poem, the speaker鈥檚 thoughts are interrupted鈥攐r are constituted by鈥攖he thoughts of all these other writers, thinkers, and musicians who are out there making the world, too,鈥� Lorsung says.听听听
Named this year鈥檚 Mary Routt Chair of Writing, the position, made possible by a donation from former Board of Trustee member and journalist Mary Patterson Routt, allows the Writing Program to invite a nationally recognized professional writer to campus each spring.听
Lorsung鈥檚 work is the product of an investigation into the very nature of making art. Completing her BA and MFA at the University of Minnesota, she also studied printmaking and drawing in Venice, taught high school in France, and ran a micro-press and residency space for writers and artists in Belgium. She received her PhD in critical theory from the University of Nottingham.听听听
In 2016, Lorsung was a National Endowment for the Arts fellow and has received numerous awards for her published collections, Music for Landing Planes, Her book, and The Century. She has two forthcoming books鈥�Pattern-book (2025), a collection about grief, art, time, friendship, and language, and Pink Theory!, a collection about love and solidarity on the page and in the world that will be published in 2026.听听
While living in rural Belgium, Lorsung explored how to make sense of a place where you don鈥檛 belong, she says. Weaving in the work of other poets who are constantly looping in Lorsung鈥檚 own head freed her to 鈥渟how her work.鈥澨�听
鈥淚f I really don鈥檛 believe that poetry or art or music or any human activity is sole genius, then I should put my money where my mouth is and let everybody else talk in my poems too,鈥� Lorsung says.听听
Her approach to her writing class spring semester is a product of that philosophy鈥攃reating something together through the language she shares with her students and a guiding question: What is writing when we do it together?听听
鈥�I also wanted students to come away from the class with a sense that writing is something everyone can do, and that we always do with others, even when we seem to be alone,鈥� Lorsung says.听听
The striking banners on the stage are one result of this collective effort, as was the group performance of Lorsung鈥檚 poem.听听
鈥�I think magic happens when women get into a circle and recite things together,鈥� Wang says upon reflecting on the experience. 鈥淚 felt simultaneously there on stage but also transported to the imagery inside the poem when hearing the words flow. It was a pretty magical experience.鈥�听
One of Lorsung鈥檚 first assignments for her students was receiving one or more letters of the alphabet and having to find those letters out in the world by taking photos or cutting clippings from printed material. It was an exercise in noticing where language lives in the world around us. The language collected was then used to write poems.听听听
Other joint efforts included Lorsung鈥檚 class walking in a procession through 五月天视频and Pitzer Colleges at the end of the semester carrying language from the Environmental Protection Act that anyone and everyone was invited to participate in, putting on a Fluxfest in April, inspired by the 1960s art movement with ten performances across three hours, and a gallery opening held in Lorsung鈥檚 office.听听
鈥�Dr. Lorsung鈥檚 class has made me realize that collaborative practice is much nearer than we may think,鈥� Nichola Monroe 鈥�27 says of her time in Lorsung鈥檚 class. 鈥淟etting go of the notion that we have to create individual work without the help or influence of others frees us to pursue more avenues of creative thinking than were previously open.鈥澨�听
Adds Lorsung, 鈥淚 wanted students to come away with the ability to surprise themselves, the willingness to be goofy in pursuit of deeply serious art, an openness to things that are often considered 鈥榖eneath notice,鈥� and much pleasure.鈥�听