A Mexican-American poet will talk about immigration and activism in writing and give a reading of his poetry Sept. 18.
Marcelo Hernandez Castillo will give an interview about policies that discriminate against immigrants in the literary world. Later in the day, he will also hold a poetry reading with an open mic beforehand to focus on migrant justice issues, said Timothy Bradford, one of the organizers of the Mark Allen Everett poetry series.
Originally from Mexico, Castillo was the first undocumented student to earn a master's in fine arts at the University of Michigan. Castillo has written several prize-winning poetry books and is about to publish a memoir, Bradford said.
“I think it will be interesting to hear his thoughts on things like borders and identities and nationalism, and all these ideas that are being tossed around right now in the political climate,” Bradford said.
The interview will be held from 9–10:30 a.m. Sept. 18 and the poetry reading will take place from 6:30–8:30 p.m. Sept. 18 in the Regents and Associates rooms in the Oklahoma Memorial Union. Sign-ups for the open mic will start at 6:15 p.m.
