Speaker's Notes:
The concept of oppression, just as the concept of freedom, is narrative and operates at the level of words: there is a narrative that accompanies every transaction of meaning taking place between us and the larger forces of the world. This lecture will address the interface between poetry and politics in language, using the reality of oppression in order to probe deeper into the fundamental concept of freedom. Poetry is used as a thinking and a feeling ground on which the language of oppression and lyrical language come into contact, giving us a deeper sense of our human condition. I will argue for the importance of claiming one's inner freedom from the language of oppression that enters the language of poetry.