Northwest Undergraduate Conference on Literature — Seattle University
Funded through the English department, Whitworth student, Sarah Haman, was able to share her work at this conference on March 30, 2019.
“The NUCL conference at Seattle University was a professionalizing experience on a much larger scale than previous conferences I have attended during my time at Whitworth. I was able to meet undergraduate students from all over the Pacific Northwest and hear a fraction of the creative and critical work developing amongst my peers. I was able to network with students and professionals in my field, which is invaluable as a writer” (Haman).
Haman read a poetry collection entitled,
“When She Heard What Happened”
Below is the last poem in the collection, “What happened to the fish?”
What happened to the fish?
When he split the bread to feed five thousand the fish remained
a pair. When she had heard what happened, she withdrew
by aluminum boat privately to a solitary place.
On this lake, she sits toward the back of the boat.
Clouds cover the sun and after an hour her skin
burns from daylight’s reflection off the metal.
Nothing is biting.
Her pole is propped against the edge
weighted in place by a cheap lumber crate.
She has stopped trolling
her lure sinking deeper
bushing the bottom.
She stands and lays her body perpendicular
on top three hard benches. Her body—
shoulders and thighs slumped between the gaps.
Nothing is biting.
The pair belong to her and she is the one that eats the fish
after cleaning and scaling and slicing the fish.
Eating them properly. The five thousand could not have.
Preparing them properly. The five thousand could not have.
Worshipping them properly. The five thousand could not have.
Disposing of them properly. Using every piece.
The heads are saved for stew. Nothing is wasted.
There are twelve baskets of bread, but the fish have been used, completely.