Notes From the Margins

Pizza & Trauma Spring 2025

This is work done by the Pizza and Trauma Writing Group, Spring 2025  - A writing group within the Margaret H. Ordoubadian University Writing Center of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU)

We met every Friday during the Spring semester 2025 to eat Pizza together and write, both separately and together, culminating in an extemporaneous group poem. Although the membership varied every week, the group began to write as a group whose voice became one as the semester progressed.

The following ten poems are the poems of this group. Thank you, Pizza and Trauma Writing Group for showing up for the group and for yourself.

Poem Three

This week we read James Baldwin’s poem “The Giver,” a poem about unconditional love, specifically his love for his mother and her love for him. In fact, Baldwin’s taught us that love, in and of itself, is the purpose of life. All of the injustices, prejudices and hatred are the opposite of love, So what should we align ourselves with? Who should we be/become in this life? All worthy questions, This is a poem about love

Baldwin understood so much it aged him by feeling so worldly yet so past us.

Baldwin was able to be a man who showed love to everyone

 And to this day should be taught to us.

We must show love to all and allow anyone to love who they love.

Love is love.

I got that and I second that and I love you back.