Poetry is not just a job for Dana Gioia, celebrated poet and literary critic. It is his passion.
Gioia served as the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003-2009 and was the California State Poet Laureate in 2015. He now is taking the time to share his wisdom with college students. Jessica Hooten Wilson, professor and chair of Great Books, had Gioia guide her throughout the start of her career, and is now encouraging her students to learn from his poetry.
Wilson said she carries the wisdom Gioia showed her to this day.
“Dana is always talking about how poetry is not just meant to be an academic enterprise,” Hooten Wilson said. “It’s [poetry] a human endeavor.”
Gioia performed a number of his poems, including a few inspired by Los Angeles. With each poem he read, members of the audience’s eyes lit up with some sort of inspiration. He then answered questions from students and staff alike. After his spoken word, Gioia took the time to sign copies of his books for anyone who wanted one.
Finding Inspiration in Southern California
Gioia was inspired by the students in the room as well as Malibu’s natural beauty as soon as he took to the podium, he said.
“It’s always a pleasure to be at Pepperdine,” Gioia said. “Not just because of the view.”
The celebrated poet shared poems that hit close to home.
One of them titled “Pity the Beautiful,” which he said was about the pros and cons that come with the “pretty privilege” in Southern California.
“L.A. is the capital of beauty,” Gioia said. “If you are beautiful enough, you can make a living.”
Gioia performed other poems about the area including, “Psalm of the Heights.”
This poem is filled with vivid imagery that could take the reader to the Hollywood Hills where the stars meet the city skyline, Gioia said.
Gioia Inspires the Next Generation
While Gioia was receiving the highest praise for his poetry, he still took the time to guide Hooten Wilson with his wisdom, she said.
Gioia would look her in the eye and treat her as a human, Hooten Wilson said.
“It was the most Chirst-like response I could have received,” Hooten Wilson said.
She said she was thrilled to introduce her own students to his work, in person. About half a dozen of her students showed up to learn from the great poet, Hooten Wilson said.
“I didn’t really give extra credit or anything,” Hooten Wilson said. “It’s just like these are cool things happening on campus, so I invited my students.”
Hooten Wilson said she first met Gioia in 2003 at a conference on religion and literature, and maintained a mentor-mentee relationship with him ever since.
Despite years of learning from Gioia, Hooten Wilson said she still learned more at the Nov. 11 reading.
“When I hear Dana talk, I think that’s what humanity should look like,” Hooten Wilson said. “It should look like poetry, embodiment, loving the good and true and beautiful things that last, and remembering that we are mortal.”
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Contact Emma Martinez via email: emma.martinez@pepperdine.edu or by Instagram: @emma.martinez17
