By Ryan McCormick
Photos courtesy of flickr.com and from Lafayette College Melange yearbook – 1996
“Thank you for noticing the good in us and trying to make it better. And for being our friend and our equal. We will never forget this,” Ross Gay said from the podium on his graduation day in May 1996.
His speech was that of the recipient of the annual George Wharton Pepper Prize. Gay, a double major in English and art and a varsity football player, “most nearly represented the Lafayette ideal” for his class.
Last Thursday, November 3, Gay revisited his old stomping grounds to perform a reading from his new book of poetry entitled Bringing the Shovel Down. Since graduation, he has found a niche for himself as both a scholar and poet.
Following Lafayette, Gay continued his studies with an MFA in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College and a Ph.D. in American Literature from Temple University. Gay is currently a professor of English and the Associate Director of Creative Writing at Indiana University, Bloomington.
While Gay’s academic career is obviously impressive, it was not his overt intellect, but rather his charm and dynamic style, that were mesmerizing during his reading. Gay’s energetic presence was overwhelming. His use of varying tones and exclamations throughout the reading of his poetry instilled in the audience a deep understanding of his message.
“Poetry was first created to be read aloud. It is an oral art,” Gay said of his exciting reading style.
Clearly, he takes this philosophy to heart. The personas he creates in his poems are often dark and disturbed, in stark contrast to their vibrant and lively poet. In Bringing the Shovel Down, Gay writes of six diseases that humans generally suffer from. Meant to be humorous and amusing, these diseases reveal some of mankind’s most common faults.
One in particular, especially relatable to current Lafayette students, describes one’s personal “burden.” In the poem, Gay describes the feeling as an anvil, or a large bag of rocks, tied around the neck of the afflicted. Ironically, the cure is to throw the infected person into a pool in which “they will sink to the bottom.” This observation might be related to the grievances of the masses of students who struggle every semester, overwhelmed by their studies.
Gay’s poetry is a delicate mix of violent shock, and poetic beauty. He balances brutal imagery with deep, meaningful lines.
Marina Hubenova ’12 who attended the lecture commented that Gay’s writing is “a stunning combination of unusual imagery with very realistic and heartfelt moments.”