Poet, essayist and literary critic Michael Kleber-Diggs presented his poems from his poem collection “Worldly Things” on Friday, Sept. 23 at 4 p.m. in the Mabee Library.

Kleber-Diggs initiated his reading with a poem he is most shy about called “Worldly Things”. He thinks it pulls him furthest away from the way he normally writes about intimacy, community and empathy.

Kleber-Diggs, he wrote this poem by questioning his reasons for writing.

“I want to make work that is nourishing like a loaf of bread. I want to read poems that illuminate the darkness and that shine a light on things that you might not otherwise see. I want to capture enduring images by my own hands,” said Kleber-Diggs.

With narrative and confessional poems that are rooted in story or autobiography, Kleber-Diggs recites his poem “What Name for This” where he delicately delivers his incremental respect for all the different means that we worship.

“Michael is a brilliant poet with sensitivity and depth in his approach to contemporary life, humanity and sexual politics. He doesn’t shy away from sensitive or difficult subjects. There’s a comforting familiarity and at the same time a freshness and originality that keeps readers surprised and engaged at the same time.” -Patricia Traxler, award-winning poet, essayist and fictional writer

Combining his sensitivity along with the originality of his birth, Kleber-Diggs then recites his poem “Seismic Activities,” which delivers the image of a father and son and eventually the relation of Kleber-Diggs and his child. Following the poignant recitation, Michael gives an overview of a poem he wrote “The Grove”. The poem delicately compares humans and emotions with trees and their twisted roots.

Kleber-Diggs says his book is about who he is from his family, where he lives in the midwest and how he would like to be a community where people see each other and have dignity, humanity, kindness and respect.

With poems written through resolute passion, Michael delivers his art with a request for people to be kind.

Edited By: LeSha’ Davis, Alijah McCracken