The Marginalia Press · Poetry
June Jordan's Poetry for the People: A Reading Guide
Start with the program's history, then follow the students' writing and their accounts of learning with Jordan.
What was Poetry for the People?
June Jordan founded Poetry for the People at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1991. Based in African American Studies, it connected reading and writing poetry with teaching and community engagement. Berkeley's library resource guide describes a program concerned with social justice and self-determination, reaching beyond the university.
The name identifies a particular program and teaching tradition. It is useful to read its history alongside the poetry, rather than treat it simply as a collection of Jordan's own poems. Students took part as writers and as teachers, helping other people read and make poetry.
For a closer account of its founding, read Joy Wilson's student research piece, published by African American Studies. Wilson explains Jordan's wish to bring students from different backgrounds together and the role of Student-Teacher-Poets in facilitating discussion. The emphasis is on the force of language and the relationships formed through using it.
Read the students, not just the history
The Poetry for the People section of Berkeley's June Jordan Resource Guide introduces the program's anthologies and links to UC Library Search. Follow that catalog route to identify an anthology and see its library access options. A catalog listing is a way to locate a book; it does not itself mean the full text is free online.
When you choose an anthology, note the credited writers, the editor and the publication date before reading. Those details help distinguish the students' work from Jordan's individual collections and from later writing about the program. Keep the poem in front of you while considering what the account of the classroom adds to your reading.
Jordan's Poetry for the People: A Revolutionary Blueprint is another route into the teaching approach. Wilson's account discusses the book and its attention to clear, purposeful language. It is a published book, rather than a substitute for present-day university course information.
Listen to the people who learned there
Berkeley Talks' 2022 conversation brings two alumni into discussion of Poetry for the People. The university page supplies both a route to the recording and a transcript, so you can listen or read. It is especially helpful after the overview: participants describe the experience of the classroom and what the program meant to them.
For a further historical perspective, Berkeley's 2002 remembrance of June Jordan places the program alongside her wider work as a poet, professor and activist. Read its descriptions as an account from that time, rather than evidence of current enrollment or staffing.
A question to take into your reading
Choose one poem and a short passage from the alumni conversation. Where does the poem make an individual experience understandable to someone else? Note the words that do that work, then compare your reading with the participants' account of learning through poetry. This is our suggested reading exercise, not a reproduction of Jordan's course or its workshop rules.