Poetry was in the air Thursday night as the Wick Poetry Center dedicated a park to deceased faculty member and poet, Maj Ragain.
“Remember not to leave this world without ceremony,” David Hassler, director of the Wick Poetry Center, quoted from Ragain in opening remarks. “Remember to look toward the sun after it is gone, to cry out when there is no one to listen.”
Ragain was a professor of creative writing at Kent State for over three decades. He passed away in 2018.
Hassler said dedicating the park to Ragain will keep his memory alive on campus and inspire future students.
“This is not just a poetry park, it’s the Maj Ragain Poetry Park, and it calls him out,” he said. “It calls him to mind. It becomes a way of keeping him fresh in our memories and honoring his influence in our lives.”
According to Maj’s son, Sean Ragain, Maj had a passion for written and spoken word. He directed that passion, not only to his students but to veterans at the Warriors Journey Home, a veterans support group.
“All of you became his kin, his ever expanding family and his saga of poets,” Sean Ragain said as he thanked all who came to the dedication.
The outdoor ceremony featured remarks from Kent State President Todd Diacon, friends and family members of Maj’s.
“Dad outlived what the doctors thought was possible,” Sean Ragain said. “He used to say through the presence of poetry, he could breathe easier.”
Maj’s dedication to poetry led to his family establishing a scholarship in his name. Dorisha Hendrix, the 2023 recipient of the scholarship, spoke on Maj and her way of honoring him.
“The idea of the scholarship is for someone to be selected and to go out into the community and kind of use some of the work that Maj did,” Hendrix said. “My idea was to dedicate a workshop to his poetry and as he would have done it, do a Friday night open-mic night.”
The park will be open to the public in hopes people will be inspired by Maj’s work.
“This park offers an ongoing acknowledgment and celebration of Maj Ragain’s commitment to the community,” Sean Ragain said. “Come to the Maj Ragain Poetry Park for decades to come, read poetry in this park as you lay on your back and look at the stars.”
Destiny Torres is an opinion writer. Contact her at [email protected].
