 "Photo: Jesse DeFlorio/Greyhound")
Kay Ryan wants to make sure that you're amused. But first, she wants to make sure you amuse her. After presenting her short, lyrical stanza entitled, "The Hinge of Spring" as a part of her reading on Wednesday, this year's Poet Laureate cleared her throat, deadpanned the audience, and said, "How about I read it again, and this time, you like it more. I can start over, I'm the Poet Laureate."
This quote was said in jest, however, as the audience that packed into the large 4th Floor Programming Room of the Andrew White Student Center was anything but disappointed.
"Poetry invites repeat readings," said Ryan. "If it were all on the surface the first time, I might as well shoot myself."
Ryan's reading was prefaced by an introduction by Lia Purpura, Professor of Writing and Writer in Residence at Loyola College. After giving a brief rundown of the poet's achievements, which include a Bachelor's degree and Master's degree from UCLA, Purpura complimented Ryan on her ability to "listen anew to [the] space around poems and between lines."
Ryan took the podium thanking Purpura, hoping to "prove that I'm worthy of half of that." She went on to open with poems from her latest effort, Jam Jar Life Boat, which draws inspiration from the phenomena of Ripley's Believe it or Not.
Each poem is preceded by a epigram of an interesting case from the Ripley's museum, such as the "Walking Stick Insect" and "Chang," the latter of which she thought would be "...particularly moving for the solitary. Don't we all want to be sensitive and solitary?" she wondered.
Ryan's short, quirky poems were mostly less than 20 lines, and she often reiterated them a second and third time at the public reading. She went on to discuss the simplicity and excitement of reading her poems, saying "They're just like potato chips."
"I don't like change," she said. "I don't think it's anything to invite, but something to marvel at when it occurs. I write for the page."
After her reading, Ryan welcomed questions, after excusing a number of people leaving the room. "You have prior obligations, I understand," she said.
In response to where she gets her inspiration, Ryan said "I have to get a whole lot of things molten in my mind at once," then went on to say how "the clothing code for poets is just great," because she is able to write on a yellow legal pad without getting out of bed.
"I have a mind that utterly forgets everything in a very short period of time, and in many ways, that's made my life sort of awkward," she said, giving an extended answer to the inquisitive question.
Overall, Ryan's prescense was embraced and was met by a huge turnout. After the reading and Q&A period, Ryan stayed to autograph books and partake in additional banter with interested participants.
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