Poetry or spoken word readings can be very different but for those at the McCoy Meetin’ House on Feb. 28 for the Latino Writers Collective event, it was simply amazing.

Park Professor of Modern Languages Sylvia Byer opened by describing the poets as those who embrace diversity, sharing their most personal inner thoughts and wonderful experiences. Most of the works were delivered in Spanish, so some of the audience cringed through the awkwardness when the room found itself laughing without comprehending the jokes and stories told by the bilingual poets.

One of the poets, Jose Faus, has been reading professionally for eleven years and acting for two. He spoke of how our societies have subliminal targeting towards ethnicities, in turn transforming “our fellow brokers, bankers, politicians, lawyers, orthodontists, officers” and other professionals into people that help young men fall into destructive attitudes. His low and steady voice cracked at the right moment, loaded with emotion as if he was living through his words all over again.

“When you look at the targets, there’s always these gangsters right? There’s a bashing where the target is going to kill you or your family right? Mostly male, but there always like young and aggressive, they will destroy you right? Look at the world we live in right now. The things we suffer in the hands of . . .are the industrialist corporates, we are dying by them putting us out. You don’t see a target for those guys. Their behind everyone promoting the violence,” Faus said.

Faus said he believes the government is run by people who don’t want us to make it out alive or be successful. Fellow peers agreed with this notion.

“Events like this are important, educate you, make you think, and understand that there’s more to life than what we see,” said Park student Jennifer Herndon.