Last November, Dominican University welcomed Mexican-American poet José Olivarez for the Caesar & Patricia Tabet Poetry Reading. The reading was co-presented by the St. Catherine of Siena Center, the English Department of Dominican University's Rosary College of Arts and Sciences, and the Rebecca Crown Library.

Dominican University English professor Maggie Andersen paid memory to Pat Tabot, the namesake of the reading. Professor Andersen expressed how the annual poetry reading provided a transformative experience for students. “When we lose a faculty member, we lose a library,” Andersen said.

In introducing the evening's guest, Dominican University English major Karen Reyes said she had taken English 266: Introduction the Literature and Language Studies with low expectations. Her lack of enthusiasm for poetry was transformed largely by reading poems by Olivarez, many of which depict the push-pull of being from Mexico and living in Chicago, i.e. “What it means to be Mexican in America.”

Ode to Tortillas

One of Olivarez' most memorable poems is Ode to Tortillas, which he read first. Olivarez was inspired to write the poem one morning while deciding what he would write for the day. Recognizing that "writing about tortillas is a little bit cliche," he wondered if he could flip it and make it new somehow. In the poem, Olivarez questions many restrictions faced by Mexican-American authors. “Can you be a Mexican writer if you never migrated?” he asks.

In I Loved the World So Much I Married It, read from his book of poems Citizen Illegal, Olivarez addressed the mixed emotions and memories brought up by both his grandmother's and uncle's deaths. He uses images of the senses even when talking about death. He mentions his “most treasured possessions: a six piece/ with lemon pepper & mild sauce on,” which he will have to give up when he divorces (dies) the world he has loved so much. 

Olivarez read many poems featuring family ties, such as his last one of the night, Related : the Sky is Dope. Written by his brother in a series of texts, the poem describes the interaction between clouds and sky at day's begging and end. Written in three parts, Mexican Heaven depicts the afterlife as a bittersweet place where all do not feel welcome. “if heaven/ is real, then its gates are closed to us.” Reporting from the beyond, Olivarez' uncle declares “the party was boring…they were ditching heaven," and so they sought a spot between heaven and hell where their family could feel at home and recognize “we have always been beautiful.”

Getting Ready to Say I Love You to the Couch, It Rains

In the introduction to Promises of Gold, Olivarez explains his book of poems "is what happens when you try to write a book of love poems for the homies amid a global pandemic that has laid bare all the other pandemics that we've been living through our whole lives.” Themes of childhood longing and heartache are found in Getting Ready to Say I Love You to the Couch, It Rains. But there can be hope in desperation: while introducing the poem, Olivarez told the story of a student so thankful for a free copy of his book that he gifted the poet a bag of chips from his inventory of snacks he'd been selling.

In the Q&A following the reading, Olivarez expressed the pain of leaving his family during his days at Harvard, and the difficulties of having a background many of his classmates could not relate to. However, he expressed the joys of having a state-of-the-art library on campus which allowed him to build his own kind of curriculum. When asked about the benefits of studying poetry, Olivarez encouraged studying anything meditatively and embracing the present, in contrast to the transient nature of Twitter and the information age. 

Olivarez offered many tips for aspiring writers such as setting a disciplined routine and reading as much as possible to stay inspired. He also spoke of the benefits of paying attention to what an author is trying to accomplish with their words and methods, as well as finding motivation and accountability with a peer group of other writers. With his own use of unique paragraph breaks and prescient thematic material, Oliverez has proven himself to be a poet who will inspire poets and readers for generations to come.

References

Library of America. (January 9, 2024). José Olivarez reads “Mexican American Disambiguation” [Video]. YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxI56Yn05Lc 

Olivarez, J. (2018). Getting Ready to Say I Love You to the Couch, It Rains. Citizen Illegal. Haymarket Books.

--. (2018). I Loved the World so Much I Married It. Citizen Illegal. Haymarket Books.

--. (2023). Mexican Heaven. Promises of Gold. Henry Holt and Company.

--. (2023). Ode to Tortillas. Promises of Gold. Henry Holt and Company.

Olivarez, P. (2023). In J. Olivarez, Promises of Gold. Henry Hold and Company.