“An Evening with Molly Fisk ” took place April 12 at 7 p.m. in Fresno City College’s Old Administration Building Auditorium. The event opened with music from the Dave Henderson Group and was followed by renowned American poet Molly Fisk, who read various poems and essays from her collection.
Pilar Graham, Professor of English at Fresno City College, was instrumental in bringing Fisk to FCC and in organizing the event;
“ My motivation to bring Molly Fisk to Fresno City College was because I had chosen her latest book of poems, ‘The More Difficult Beauty,’ as a supplemental book for my English 250 class. My initial thought was to bring Molly to my class, and later decided to bring her to Fresno City College,” said Graham.
Fisk, a San Francisco native, earned her bachelor’s degree from Radcliffe College and Harvard University and her master’s degree from Simmons College Graduate School of Management. Her writing career began at the age of 35 when repressed memories of past child abuse began to resurface.
Her first poem of the evening was entitled “My Heart.” Fisk selected this poem as one to be printed individually using broadside letterpress (a technique where the paper is run through a press that causes the letters to be raised off of the paper) and was available for purchase at the event.
The most risque poem of the evening was one called “Sex” that Fisk said was inspired by “a man named Bill.” This poem dealt with the awkward things that take place during sex, and at one point, compared the sounds humans make to that of dolphins.
However, not all of the poems read that evening dealt with sex. Her poem entitled “The History of Men” discusses the evolution of a boy to manhood and how quickly innocence can be taken away.
After the reading, drinks and snacks were provided in the lobby, where if you stuck around long enough, you could speak with Fisk one on one.
Financial support that allowed Fisk to attend was provided by the Fresno City College Associated Student Government, Friends of the Arts and the Humanities Division Foundation. All FCC staff who worked the event volunteered their time.
