February’s celebration of Black History Month and the impending arrival of spring were on the mind of Tim Seibles on Thursday.
He could have picked any number of poems from a deep catalog, but these were the two themes for a short reading in St. Joseph’s Chapel.
Mr. Seibles read for much longer Wednesday night in Pingree Auditorium, followed by a question-and-answer session. Over the course of his two-day visit to Christ School, he also sat in on Language and Literature classes, helping students with their writing through exercises and discussion.
Mr. Seibles was an English professor at Old Dominion University for more than 20 years before retiring in 2019. He was selected as the Poet Laureate of Virginia in 2016, and additionally has received the Open Voice Award, the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Mass.
The visit by Mr. Seibles was made possible by Christ School's Cooper Living Arts Series. The support of Edwin Cooper ’81, P’19, P’23 and his wife, Andrea P’19, P’23, has allowed the boys to observe and learn from five different artists or ensembles since October with two more on the horizon – the Jonathan Scales Fourchestra on March 2 and Toubab Krewe band on April 20.