Last Thursday night in Pearlman Lounge, Prof. Mary Campbell (ENGL) read selections from her newly published book of poetry, "Trouble." She also read some of her most recent poems that have not yet been published. The night began very calmly as poet-in-residence Rafael Campo (ENGL) read a moving introduction about Campbell to a very full lounge. As Campbell took center stage, her words of the night began with an in-depth explanation about why she called her book "Trouble." "The word doesn't stand for bad stuff that happens, but for care -- to take the trouble to do something."

Her first readings, which included "Well," "Calm Before the Storm" and "Novocaine," were punctuated with stories about their origins and specific details within the poems that would not be necessarily recognizable to the younger members of the audience. After the reading of "Novocaine," she made a comment about what one of her students had said after reading this poem along with several others: "I liked it because the other poems are depressing and that one is 'lighthearted.'"

Campbell went on to read "To Autumn," which she wrote as a reaction to the AIDS epidemic. The next poem, "Hearing," was written soon after the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles.

While she was reading, Pearlman Lounge was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Emotion radiated from her voice, adding a sense of power to her entire being. She was very passionate, with every word she spoke dripping with such feeling that all you wanted to do was sink down to the floor and cry.

After these poems, Campbell read a few that were a bit more lively that elicited a few laughs from the admiring audience. She read "The Singer" and told a short story about a Kate Lang concert. Campbell's play with words included a story about a pupil and a teacher: "When a student looks up into a teacher's eyes, the teacher sees a pupil." She then read "To the Editor," "Charm" and "Wake."

Campbell ended her reading with a few recent unpublished poems. In "Poetic License Expires: A Bad Dream," which Campbell wrote in Europe, Campbell used 17 words, all relating to the war. Another poem was a letter to President Bush, and she ended the night with a very emotional reading of her newest poem, "Genesis."

Some other books by Campbell that are worth looking at include another volume of poetry, "The World, The Flesh, The Angels" and two others, "Wonder and Science: Imagining Worlds Early Modern Europe" and "The Witness and the Other World: Exotic European Travel."

Campbell has been given many prestigious awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship this year as well as the Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award.