UW-Eau Claire will host the 17th Annual International Poetry Reading on Tuesday, April 25.

According to Volume One, International Poetry Reading is an event that occurs each year at UW-Eau Claire to bring the campus community and the larger Eau Claire community together to read poems in languages other than English. 

The 17th Annual International Poetry Reading is a free event and is open to all ages. The event will take place at 6 p.m., and refreshments and beverages will be offered to attendees. 

For those who want to attend but can’t make it in person, the International Poetry Reading will also be streamed online.

Kaishan Kong, co-organizer of the International Poetry Reading and an associate professor of languages at UW-Eau Claire, said it is nice for people to be aware of so many languages around the world and to appreciate the culture and diversity of these languages through poetry.

“The beautiful thing about this event is that we keep telling our readers they do not need to be first language speakers of that language and they don’t need to be superior proficient,” Kong said. “They can be language learners, all they need to do is read a poem.”

Kong said engagement in signing up to read at the International Poetry Reading has been excellent and, so far, 28 languages will be read at the event. 

“We have 29 readers, including current international students, local Blugold students, retired professors, community members and visiting scholars from Uzbekistan,” Kong said. 

Josh Bauer, co-organizer of the International Poetry Reading and a web developer and administrator at Learning Technology Services, said he hopes to see good participation from students, faculty and the community in listening to these languages and supporting the readers.

“We think it’s really important to continue this tradition of celebrating language and culture on our campus,” Bauer said. 

According to Bauer, the main intent of the International Poetry Reading is to showcase the culture that Eau Claire brings together, whether this involves Eau Claire residents, visiting scholars or students. 

Paul Hoff, a reader for the International Poetry Reading and a professor of languages at UW-Eau Claire, will be reading two poems, one in Spanish and another in Spanglish. Hoff also helped recruit readers that will read in Ukrainian, Vietnamese and Norwegian.

Hoff said he has been involved for most of the 17 years of the International Poetry Reading and hopes to see a great turnout that is representative of UW-Eau Claire and the surrounding community this year. 

According to Hoff, attendees of the 17th Annual International Poetry Reading will receive a multilingual printed program that includes poems along with their English translations to further develop nuanced understanding and appreciation of language at the event. 

“My former colleagues Jeff Vahlbusch and Audrey Fessler founded and developed the event beautifully, and I am delighted that Kaishan Kong and Josh Bauer continue organizing this annual celebration of languages,” Hoff said. 

Hoff said the International Poetry Reading has become a great tradition celebrated every April that brings together a diverse community united by a love of languages and poetry.

For more information about the 17th Annual International Poetry Reading, check out UWEC International Poetry Reading’s Facebook. 

O’Brien can be reached at [email protected].