On Thursday, February 23, Upper School students got a visit from Dolapo Demuren, a Nigerian-American poet who grew up in Prince George’s County and now teaches at the University of Maryland College Park while he completes his doctorate at the University of Southern California. The guest speaker was part of the A.J. Downs Writers at Work series, which brings professional writers to Gilman to speak at assembly, visit classes, and meet with faculty.

Introducing Demuren, Tickner Writing Fellow Samuel Cheney said, “He’s an awesome community member and as good of a person as he is a poet.”

Demuren read aloud a few of his poems, including one that he wrote in response to the killing of Trayvon Martin. “What poetry has allowed me to do is make sense of and appreciate the various things we get to hold and to have as human beings,” Demuren told the students.

At the end of his presentation, Demuren shared words of wisdom with the boys. “Character is what stays in the room after you leave. The greatest piece of advice I could give you is to prioritize your character, give yourself grace, and listen to the people who know you.”

The discussion continued for interested students in the library. Demuren talked about how he got his start writing poetry (he was encouraged by a high school teacher), about his process when writing (it can involve looking for a question to answer), and about finding his community (he says he finds people with similarities wherever he goes).

Read more about Demuren here, and watch his presentation below.

Dolapo Demuren is a Nigerian-American writer from the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. He received his B.A. in Writing Seminars from Johns Hopkins University and M.F.A from Columbia University. Currently, he is a doctoral candidate in Education at the University of Southern California. His honors include fellowships from the Cave Canem Foundation and The Academy for Teachers, as well as scholarships from the Bread Loaf Writers Conference. His poems and other writings are featured in the Adroit Journal, Frogpond Journal, Prelude Magazine, and Small Orange Journal. He teaches creative writing at the University of Maryland College Park, where he is currently the Interim Associate Director of the Jiménez-Porter Writers House.