First poet laureate of Massachusetts brings “brain-droppings” to Miriam Levine Reading

Sarah Daponde Arts & Features Editor

Christy Howland / THE GATEPOST

Framingham State hosted Regie Gibson as the chosen speaker for the annual Miriam Levine Reading in the Heineman Ecumenical Center on Wednesday, April 1. The event was co-sponsored by the Arts & Ideas series and the English Department. Jennifer De Leon, professor of English, welcomed Gibson, “poet, performer, and educator,” to the stage. De Leon said Gibson was selected from over 100 applicants to become the first poet laureate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He was sworn in by Governor Maura Healey on May 30. The nominating committee concluded Gibson would become the “defining voice of poetry and creative expression across the state,” said De Leon. Gibson is a professor at the Berklee College of Music and an instructor at Clark University. De Leon said he has worked alongside “luminaries” such as Kurt Vonnegut, Gwendolyn Brooks, and John Legend, among others. He is a former National Poetry Slam Individual Champion and was selected as one of Chicago Tribune's Artists of the Year for Excellence for his poetry. The poet laureate specializes in “bluesey, jazzy” sounds. “Regie Gibson’s voice carries the full sweep of American experience,” De Leon said. This event was his second visit to Framingham State. De Leon said he previously hosted a “Shakespeare to Hip-Hop” event. De Leon, also a published author, said she first met Gibson around 20 years ago, and the two writers have been friends ever since. She said it is important for writers to “get out in the world,” and find a community to share their work. “When you write, it’s solitary. It’s you and the blinking cursor, or you and the pen and page, but writing is something that I believe is meant to be shared,” De Leon added. Gibson greeted the audience as “fellow word nerds.” He said he loves getting together with people who believe in the power of storytelling. “This language thing that we do, this communication thing we do as human beings, can actually reach out, heal, connect one another,” he said. “Story-telling is one of our first technologies.” Gibson was born in Mississippi and raised in Chicago. He said music was everywhere in his neighborhood and it became a comfort to him long before he could read or write. His great-grandfather was a “railroad caller,” someone who made up songs for the other workers to hit spikes to, he said. “He could not read, so he had to sing and make up verses and stories and poems as mnemonic devices to be able to remember,” he added. Gibson said he grew up around several churches, and gospel singing was common. He said sometimes, as he walked by a church, a voice would “arrest” him. When hearing a voice like that, Gibson said, “Your covalent bonds just split your atoms, lifted you up, grabbed you by the ankles, and shook you.” Gibson discussed how important empathy is in human interactions. Throughout history, human beings have always needed each other, he said. Making “individualism into a religion” is not the way people should act. When teaching in a prison, Gibson said prisoners were punished through solitary confinement. “You would think with all the degradation, all the craziness, all of the violence that an individual is subject to, that they would crave to be put in solitary confinement,” Gibson said. “But no, we need each other, even if that interaction is going to be less than humane.” He said humans need to feel music, poetry, and “whatever comes from the human soul.” Gibson shared a few pieces he created about Jimi Hendrix, one of which he imagined to be an interview in his voice after his “phenomenal” performance at Woodstock ’69. “Here’s a couple about James Marshall Hendrix, in honor of him - if you don’t know who that is, your life is impoverished,” Gibson added. Gibson closed out the reading with “The Song of Massachusetts,” an excerpt taken from a longer written piece of his, which he read at the induction ceremony to become the poet laureate. He said he was working on two separate pieces to read at the inauguration. His wife, who he said described herself as a “Massachusetts girl through and through,” helped him decide on “The Song of Massachusetts.” “She’s never led me wrong in that situation,” added Gibson. The oldest poem out of the ones he read at the event was about his wife, Kate, and son, which he wrote over 20 years ago, he said. Gibson’s inspirations include Nina Simone, whose voice he described as “haunting,” as well as Danielle Ponder, Gwendolyn Brooks, and D’Angelo. “If you don’t know who D’Angelo is, your life is impoverished,” he added. He is a member of the Lexington Symphony, where he said he goes to draw inspiration from classical music. De Leon said, “I really think that all of us in the room and on Zoom can say that we’re so inspired by the visit by Regie Gibson at Framingham State.”