Poetic Education and the Practice of Freedom
We often think of learning to read poetry as something that happens through classroom lectures and textbooks. Instead, a parallel pedagogy was unfolding during the Mississippi summer project of 1964. In this lecture, Posmentier offers a glimpse of education that centers Black traditions of poetry, song and folklore; Black interpretive strategies; and Black alternative teaching practices in the context of fierce battles over who gets to learn, how, and where.
This is the Ridge lecture and is part of The Huntington Research 2025-2026 "Active in the Archive" lecture series.
Know Before You Go
- A post-lecture reception will take place in front of the lecture hall at the Rose Hills Foundation Garden Court at 7 p.m.
- Doors to the lecture hall will open at 5:30 p.m.
- If you are visiting the gardens during the day and plan to stay for the lecture, please note that all guests must clear the grounds when The Huntington closes at 5 p.m.
Top image: Arata, María Antonia Jimeno de, author, Book of Poetry, 1923, Arata family collection, Gift of Allen and Martha Arata | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.