Poet values meaningful language

Samuel Hazo draws influence from a wide range of people, including his 8-year-old grandson…. Samuel Hazo draws influence from a wide range of people, including his 8-year-old grandson. Hazo, a prize-winning poet, essayist and novelist, discussed what it is to make language meaningful and unforgettable on Feb. 1. in Benedum Hall.

The lecture was part of the American Experience Lecture Series given by the University Honors College. Robert Hazo, Samuel’s younger brother, created the series 35 years ago. Robert died last year, but Edward McCord, director of programming for the Honors College, made it clear that Robert’s legacy lived on.

“Robert Hazo is very much with us tonight,” he said.

Both Samuel and Robert had been actively involved in Pittsburgh throughout their lives; Robert with his series, and Samuel being both founder and director of the International Poetry Forum in Pittsburgh. He is also the McAnulty Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at Duquesne University. One of his latest efforts was a 2005 prose compilation titled “The Power of Less: Essays on Poetry and Public Speech.”

“Memorable words seem to have an undying legacy,” Hazo said.

He proved this not only by reciting his own poetry but also excerpts from the work of others, both inside and outside of the poetry genre. With noticeable frustration he commented on “the language of the economy,” which reduces deaths and births to impersonal numbers.

“Expository prose and direct statement dominate our lives,” Hazo elaborated. While on this theme, Hazo brought up political lies, gossip, and swearing, which he maintained were offenses to language. “Corruption of language has led to everything from confusion to war,” he continued.

Hazo is not afraid to confront sensitive issues. His own poems that he read included “The Ballad of the Jolly Broker” and “The Ballad of the Old Lovers,” both bold in their subject matter and statements. The last poem he read was a one he wrote about the current war. In reflection, he asked, “What good is poetry that shies away from pain and amputation?”

Much of his lecture revolved around what he termed “felt thought” and the difference between existing lines and living lines, essentially the difference between lines worthy of remembrance and those not.