“If you free your tongue, your spirit will follow” – Kate Rushin
In response to a student’s question on how she gets over writer’s block, esteemed poet Kate Rushin revealed, “It can get in your way to think you have to write it down perfect, immediately.” Ironically, perfection was exactly what I demanded of myself when beginning to write this article. I went to war with words, struggling to decide what descriptions could possibly recount the unparalleled presence of Kate Rushin at Connecticut College on Feb. 20. In preparing this article, I reflected on the opening sentiments of Professor Blanche Boyd, a prominent member of the English Department, who had the pleasure of presenting Kate Rushin to the podium. Boyd expressed that she didn’t need to introduce our guest using Rushin’s credentials, as it was simply a profound honor to announce such a woman. Therefore, I knew that inaugural details about Rushin’s M.F.A from Brown University and distinguished history with the feminist publishing house Firebrand Books would not properly epitomize her extraordinaire. Those accolades alone, in all their greatness, could never illustrate the woman who used no supernatural forces to tug an audience closer and closer to her with every breath of poetry. Those accolades could never elucidate the momentary silence of a stunned crowd following her performance of an evocative piece. Those accolades would have had trouble emphasizing the ways in which Rushin’s poetic lines caused our heads to nod passionately in admiration. I knew, like Professor Boyd, that beginning with an overview of Kate Rushin’s honors would fall short of encapsulating her unrivaled awe. So, the question remains: where should I begin?
That Thursday evening, the sky beyond the large glass windows of Shain Library’s Chu Room appeared to paint a pastel sunset just for our guest. Kate Rushin leaned on the left side of the podium and spewed gorgeous lines of poetry from her book The Black Back-Ups. She performed a series of selected poems that would tempt goosebumps and cause soul-stirring tingles amongst the audience. For someone who had only encountered an inkling of Rushin’s poetry in the past, I was pleased to absorb a greater portion of her work Thursday night. Between each reading, she would share bits of information regarding herself and the poem. It was a wonderfully exclusive experience, in the sense that we were all receiving these personal tidbits from the author herself (every reader’s dream). I remember how, during a brief pause for comments, Rushin abandoned the podium and moved through a middle partition of seats to hear a question from the back. It felt as though a powerful energy was navigating through us, every eye followed her graceful stride down the aisle. It is the ability of a divine poet to embed in a crowd such feelings of reverence. Towards the end of the night, Rushin performed a poem vivid in colorful food descriptions. It was during this piece that I was reminded of my own impending hunger, which had been satisfied so far by the fruits of poetry fed to my soul. There was a request from Professor Boyd for Kate Rushin to recite a poem she wasn’t planning to perform. She expressed how she didn’t like to read that piece, because for years she couldn’t figure out how to continue it. She shared with us that oftentimes you never finish a poem, you just have to let it go.
When Kate Rushin received a standing ovation, I noticed how the purple skies beyond Shain Library had faded to black, leaving only the luminance of our campus’s light posts. I smiled, knowing that she had carried me through time in a memorable blink. That is the magic of a powerful poet, that is the magic of Kate Rushin. •
Photo courtesy of Nefertari Pierre-Louis