Tacey Atsitty, recipient of several awards including a Truman Capote Creative Writing Fellowship award, the Carson-Browning Poetry Prize and the morning star creative writing award spoke at International poetry night on Nov. 17.
The poetry reading was part of International Education week where student poets performed pieces they chose or created themselves followed by a presentation of readings by Atsitty.
“I am Tsenahabilnii ( sleep rock people) born for the Ta’neazahnii (tangle people),” Atsitty said.
A member of the Navajo nation, she lived and grew up in Cove, Arizona and Kirtland, New Mexico. She attended BYU and the Institute for American Indian Arts for her BA before moving onto Cornell University for an MFA in creative writing.
Her first book, Rain Scald, published through University of New Mexico Press, is a collection of her poetry and was the source for the poems she shared.
Charles Oppong is a student at Weber State who read his original poem From the Horse’s own Eyes.
“I wrote it about 2 years ago using the main language from Ghana and then also using English,” Oppong said.
The event was offered through the International Student Center and hosted by Billie Atsitty De Paiva who also happened to be the guest poet’s younger sister.
“She did a wonderful thing for her baby sister,” Atsitty De Paiva said.
The event was one of several held throughout last week as part of International Education week. The week included different events each day for students to take part in through the International Student and Scholar Center.
