Shaun-Dae Clark Reads a Poem

Shaun-Dae Clark Reads a Poem

Shaun-Dae Clark is a second year student at The George Washington University. She works at Gelman Library and will be studying abroad at the London School of Economics this fall.

-Justice Spencer, Nico Page, Marwa Roshan

The Recitation

The Interview
interviewed by Justice Spencer

Justice: Why did you choose the poem? ("To Be in Love," by Gwendolyn Brooks)

Shaun-Dae: I chose the poem because it is about the power of love, to be completely cliché. Though I’ve never been in love, it makes me excited (and kind of scared), about the prospect of it. Though it indicates the heartbreak and agony often associated with love, the blissful and intimate experience of being in love is emphasized, and that’s enough to make me dream. I think everyone yearns for that euphoric feeling that brightens your overall outlook at life and allows you to empathize to the greatest extent, even when the crushing blows of lost love are your reality. It somehow has the power to make us still chase it, and I think that is beautiful, and perfectly transcribed in “To Be in Love.” 

Justice: How does it fit into your everyday love?

Shaun-Dae: I’m pretty obsessed with the idea of being loved and loving someone else. Every day, consciously or otherwise, I wonder if I’ll meet my person. And every day I don’t, my heart breaks a little bit more. So I listen to love songs, watch romance movies, and read poems about love that all keep my faith in the prospect. It’s evaded me for far too long.   

Justice: What connection do you see between music and poetry?

Shaun-Dae: Music is poetry. In the same way poetry tells a story and/or expresses or evokes a feeling, music does as well. My go to, whenever I feel sad, happy, or heartbroken, is the accompanying music and I imagine those who write and read poetry look for that same therapeutic feeling.