THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
PAGE 9A
Poet Dominique Christina to read at Union
Dominique Christina, a poet from Denver, will be at the Kansas Union on Thursday to read poetry as a part of Sexual Assault Awareness Week.
DELANEY REYBURN
@DelaneyReyburn
PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK
Dominique Christina, a poet, writer and performer from Denver, will perform a poetry reading Thursday on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Week.
Christina had her first full-length volume of poetry published in March called "The Bones, The Breaking, The Balm." She said it's all about the things she believes in.
Q: What inspired you to start writing poetry?
A: Poetry has always been something familiar in my life. I come from a very educated family who has greatly influenced my poetry. There isn't really one specific thing that started my love for writing. I had a lot of stuff gurgling inside that I think needed an exit. I took a creative writing class in undergrad and it really opened me up to poetry. When I started writing, I wrote about a lot of things. I wrote about my childhood, the absence of my biological father, I wrote about all kinds of stuff.
Q: How would you explain slam poetry to someone who doesn't know what it is?
A: It's a competition is really what it is. You have an amount of time and a topic, and your goal is to win amongst the other poets.
Q: So what kind of poetry are you presenting on Thursday?
A: Not slam poetry, since it's a competition. I'll be doing a reading of a poem. I'll be presenting more than one poem on Thursday. I only present things that I've written,
Q: Are you passionate about this topic?
and it will be tied to the ethos of the event around the topic of sexual assault awareness. It talks a lot about trauma and activism.
A: I wouldn't recite any poetry I'm not passionate
about. I think sexual assault is something everyone should be well aware [of]. I was personally traumatized by sexual abuse, but that is something personal to me.
Q: What are some other topics you write poetry on?
A: My family's legacy in the
he left, Jackie Robinson took his place; he's in the hall of fame. My grandparents were educators and activists, as was my mother who's a professor here in Denver. They have influenced a lot of what I write.
Civil Rights movement has influenced a lot of what I write. I've always considered myself a colored girl, and my writing is a celebration of that. My family came from Little Rock, Ark., in 1958 to Denver. My grandfather played for the negro leagues. He was a shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs. When
Q:What are some of your biggest accomplishments?
A: Well my biggest accomplishments are my four children. But I am very proud of my poetry, of course. I hold two national titles and was a winner of the Women of the World Poetry Championship twice.
Edited by Alyssa Scott