Boston

‘Boston Ode': City's Poet Laureate Takes Us Through 2020, an Extraordinary Year

"city of / ramming, city of running, of shifting, pacing, fast, / gone. champion of all. parade for everything / celebrate the house, the keeper of our bones."

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2020 has been a year like no other. But through all of the pain and uncertainty, Bostonians found moments of joy, celebration and resilience. In this video, we take a few minutes to reflect on Boston's journey through this year as we're moved forward by the words of poet Porsha Olayiwola's work, "Boston Ode."

"Boston Ode" was originally written and performed in the spring of 2019, highlighting both the author's love for the city and its history of inequality and discrimination. Olayiwola is the sitting poet laureate for the city of Boston, an Individual World Poetry Slam champion and the artistic director of MassLEAP, a literary youth organization. Originally from Chicago and a graduate of the University of Illinois, Olayiwola is the author of "i shimmer sometimes, too." She is an MFA candidate at Emerson College.

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