Tag Archives: poetry

This Week in Princeton History for January 17-23

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In this week’s installment of our recurring series, heavy snow holds up the mail, the McCosh family host a party for students, and more.

January 17, 1995—Paul Muldoon, director of the Creative Writing Program, wins the T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry.

January 18, 1796—Israel Crane (Class of 1797) complains to the faculty that “Mr. Harvey of the same class” “laid a nuisance at his door last Saturday night.” The faculty agree to investigate.

January 19, 1836—The Boston Traveler reports that it took 10 horses and 10 men four hours to get from Kingston to Princeton to deliver the mail (about 3 miles) because of the heavy snow.

January 23, 1879—Isabella and James McCosh have the senior class over to their new house. Local women, as well as some from out of town, assist with hosting the reception. The students are especially impressed with the mansion’s library.

Home of Isabella and James McCosh, ca. 1880s. Historical Photograph Collection, Campus Life Series (AC111), Box SP05, Image 1240.

For the previous installment in this series, click here.

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This Week in Princeton History for October 1-7

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In this week’s installment of our returning series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a recent graduate engages in civil disobedience, Albert Einstein sets sail for Princeton, and more.

October 1, 1984—Leo Schiff ’83 breaks into a military facility in Rhode Island to disarm nuclear warheads as part of the “Plowshares” civil disobedience movement. He and three others will be sentenced to a year in prison for the act.

Leo Schiff ’83. Photo from 1983 Nassau Herald.

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Latinx Student Poetry at Princeton

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By Courtney Perales ’17 with April C. Armstrong *14 and Mario Garcia ’18

Students have often used the arts and poetry to express themselves and enhance their identities on campus. Two Latinx poems I found in student publications in the archives this spring were particularly striking to me: “Lloro Por Mi Puerto Rico Perdido” in La Mujer Latina, by Maribel Garcia ’84, and “We Hunger” in The Vigil, by Michele Parris ’90. I also ran across a reprint of “Our Tongue was Nauhuatl” by noted Mexican-American poet Ana Castillo in Sol Del Este East Coast Chicanx Student Forum Newsletter. One thing that stood out among these three different Latinx poems were that they delved into topics around identity, sense of belonging, and racial insensitivity and microaggressions students were experiencing. In another Latinx student publication, Amanecer, there were many more poems with similar themes. The poems depicted how these students were part of and yet pushed against the idea of a “Latinx monolith.” Wrestling with topics like borders, immigration, and independence, each piece pulled from deep emotional reserves and evoked the pain, confusion, and frustrations that came with being a student of color at Princeton.

La Mujer Latina, Spring 1982. Historical Subject Files (AC109) Box 297, Folder 8.

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