Kent State’s Wick Poetry Center hosted an event that featured Mary Weems, poet and professor at John Carroll University, at 7 p.m. Thursday in White Hall.

The event was organized through the collective efforts of The Wick Poetry Center and Joanne Dowdy, professor from the College of Education.

“It’s great to be able to teach students content without lecture,” said Dowdy. “Mary and I have maintained a professional relationship for a number of years, and I’m so happy she was able to come speak tonight.”

Weems started the evening by reading from her latest work, “For(e)closure”, which is a book based on her play “Closure,” a collection of nine poems about the foreclosure crisis in America as told from the perspective of objects left behind in a foreclosed home. Weems gave brief descriptions of the inspiration for each poem before reading them to the audience. She read poems from the book, including “Boiling Point”, “Rock Steady” and “Slot Machine”.

“Writing these poems reminded me of how greedy and scrupulous some people can be,” Weems said. “Poetry is how I heal, so I always feel better after I’ve let it out.”

Contact Ben Miller at [email protected].