OSU's Contemplative Studies Initiative in partnership with the Hundere Endowed Chair in Religion and Culture present the Contemplative Practices for the Greater Good Series. 

Interrogating the Spirit

A Performance with Oregon's Poet Laureate, Anis Mojgani

Co-sponsored by OSU's Contemplative Studies Initiative and The School of Writing, Literature & Film

Held via Zoom on Friday January 15, 2021 7-8pm 

Registration is closed; you can view the recording below!

The seen world exists as two points––the world that it itself is, and the unseen world that the seen world reflects. Seeking to observe both these worlds, is what the act of poetry is rooted in, an interrogation of the spirit, which in reality is the spirit interrogating the self. This communion allows us to see the world around us more greatly which thus allows us to see the worlds within us more greatly, then allowing us to see even more greatly the world, and back and forth and back and forth, as is the character of conversation. For this session, Oregon’s Poet Laureate, Anis Mojgani will be sharing poems and facilitating conversation about the relationship of what it means to be in dialogue with the seen and the unseen.

Requests for accommodation can be made by emailing ContemplativeStudies@oregonstate.edu or calling 541-737-4785. Anis' books are available and can be purchased at Grass Roots Bookstore in-store, for home delivery or curbside pickup.

Anis Mojgani is the current Poet Laureate of Oregon. A two-time individual champion of the National Poetry Slam and winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam, he has been published in such journals as Rattle, Platypus, Winter Tangerine, Forklift Ohio, and Bat City Review, amongst others. The author of five books of poetry, Anis has done commissioned work for the Getty Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum, his work has also appeared on HBO, NPR, as part of the Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day series, and the NY Times. 2021 will see the premiere of his first opera libretto, Sanctuaries. He draws inspiration from his upbringing in the Baha’i faith, as well as from the oral traditions of his Persian and African-American cultural background. Originally from New Orleans, Anis currently lives in Portland Oregon. Photo by Hilde Franzsen.