Walker’s poetry reflects the process of living and learning in another culture
Poetry became a point of connection when Kristin Walker shared her
writing with the rest of her Study-Service Term (SST) group in Perú in
the summer of 2005. With her faculty leader – Associate Professor of
Spanish Dean Rhodes – Kristin had decided during the first half of the
semester to focus on creative writing to fulfill the SST requirement of
completing a culminating project.
Upon completing a service assignment in the Andean city of
Huancayo, her work “became a point of connection and reconnection with
others, as I shared with my SST group and close friends and family.”
Back on campus, Kristin’s poetry, along with small drawings, became a
Pinchpenny Press book titled “Of Dust and Sun” published in the spring
semester. She writes in the introduction:
“As I walked along dusty streets or sat in crowded buses in Perú,
I pondered educational problems, the role of religion, women’s rights,
and the day to day of living in a foreign country. In the evenings, I
found myself sitting down to write at a small desk in my host home,
wrapped in a wool blanket to keep out the cold. Usually these sessions
were interrupted by the curiosity of family members, the door buzzer,
or an evening meal. What I was able to jot down began out of necessity:
to emotionally process and digest events around me in a familiar
language so that I could continue thriving and learning in an
unfamiliar place. More and more, however, these works gave voice to the
height and depth of emotion that I felt on a daily basis. This
journaling developed into a project of sorts: making sense of what I
saw, making sense of my role in it.
“Currently, this writing symbolizes to me the process of living
and learning in another part of the world. What gives travel
significance is the fact that it is a very personal experience within a
broad context of people and relationships, places and events. Writing
is much the same. Though I traveled with many, this writing is my
observation, my point of view. Putting a voice to these travels both
acknowledges its uniqueness and connects me with surrounding
individuals through our common paths.”
Earth Child
hiding in warm kitchen corner
he snitches shells with boiled egg still attached
begs apples and mandarins from pockets
and laments over bare chicken bones
then, wiping crumbs from mouth with worn sleeve
gallops out the door, dog at heels
he leaves no place undiscovered
no patch undisturbed in the small yard
wide-eyed and wild dark hair
skin brown of dust and sun
emerges a tummy from worn sweater and pants
that begs for a tickle
with laughter that bubbles clear
he grabs hold of hands with a grimy grip
then just as quickly lets go again
to go tripping over clumps of grass
until feet fail him
and he’s a roly-poly giggling heap on the ground
mother eyes his actions suspiciously from the window
clanks dishes under cold running water
little sister firmly strapped to her back
wrapped in colors of sunlight, geraniums from the garden,
orange peel
fire crackling hot behind her
this boy has not been defeated – yet
hiding in warm kitchen corner