Safiya Sinclair speaks during a Q&A session following her poetry readings. Photo by Mason Buysse.

KATE NORROD | STAFF REPORTER | knorrod@butler.edu 

Jamaican poet and memoirist Safiya Sinclair drew the largest crowd to a Vivian S. Delbrook Visiting Writers Series event this semester. On Nov. 5, Sinclair read her poems followed by a Q&A session and a book signing. 

Sinclair has published one poetry book, “Cannibal”, and one memoir, “How to Say Babylon”, leading her to win awards such as the National Book Critics Circle Award and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature. 

First-year P1 pharmacy major Kulani Eba discovered Sinclair’s work in her First-Year Seminar class with Dr. Hofstetter, and enjoyed “How to Say Babylon”. She also formally introduced Sinclair before the event and attended a dinner with Sinclair and other students prior to the talk.

“My favorite part of the event was right after I introduced her,” Eba said, “I had to go off the stage so she could come on, and then she gave me a hug. I was very flattered that she liked the introduction.” 

For the beginning part of the event, Sinclair read five poems, four of which were published in “Cannibal”. The last, titled “Planet Dread”, was written in 2023. 

Sara Long, a first-year English major, appreciated the reading. She has attended all installments of the Visiting Writers Series, but named Sinclair as the best performer and reader she has seen so far. Long believes that poetry is best felt when read out loud. In particular, one of Sinclair’s poems resonated with Long. 

“Her poem ‘Mermaid’ really stuck with me,” Long said. “I read it again this morning, because I remember it was so vivid. There’s really fantastic imagery.”

At the end of the reading, Dr. Cham Moore, assistant professor of English in African American literature, interviewed Sinclair on stage in a Q&A session. Sinclair shared about her professional and personal journeys as a writer, spanning Jamaica to Vermont to Virginia to Arizona, and her experiences growing up in a Rastafarian family. 

Following the guided Q&A, the event opened up to the audience for questions. After speaking with several attendees, Eba reported that the event really formed a safe space for open dialogue with Sinclair. 

“There were a lot of questions from the audience [about] black identity and how to go about the struggles of [attending] a [predominantly white institution],” Eba said. “Opening spaces for these kinds of topics is what helps us make progress.”

Both Eba and Long emphasized the importance of learning about and appreciating literature and the benefits of hearing others’ stories. 

“With the rise of anti-intellectualism, it’s really important to emphasize reading books and gaining perspectives through reading,” Eba said.

Coming to Butler from Ethiopia, Eba was able to connect with Sinclair through their shared experiences as international students. She appreciated Sinclair’s ability to take her experience as a Caribbean woman in the Rastafarian community and make it applicable to black identity as a whole. 

“[Sinclair] encourages other people to be comfortable in their skin [and] take up space without feeling embarrassed about it,” Eba said. 

Moore, Sinclair’s on-stage interviewer, expressed their admiration for Sinclair’s work. 

“It was great having Dr. Safiya Sinclair grace us with her powerful and inspiring poetry,” Moore stated in an email to the Butler Collegian. “Not only did she teach us what it means to be a Black Jamaican woman that intentionally takes up space and never asks permission, but she also taught us what poetry looks like as both a spiritual experience and post-colonial practice. I think it’s no mistake that this turned out to be our best-attended VWS event this semester. Safiya was deeply engaging and made the event feel more like a conversation with the audience. She made sure the audience left thinking about Jamaica as a place of humanity, beauty, and resistance more than just the tourism that it’s most known for.”

Sinclair concluded the event with a signing of her two books, “Cannibal” and “How to Say Babylon”. 

The Visiting Writers Series’ next installment will feature Sigrid Nunez on Nov. 17.