Carlow University

www.carlow.edu
Pittsburgh, PA
May 9, 2009
Samuel Hazo, PhD, founder of the International Poetry Forum and former Poet Laureate of Pennsylvania

"Despite all that we hear about literacy and as important as literacy is to a functioning democracy, what we truly expect from you as college graduates and lifelong learners is fluency – the art of choosing words that say as faithfully as possible what you mean. It is the lifeblood of a good life for each of you and for society. If measuring up to standards like this makes you different, so be it. You did not come here just to blend with the scenery, and you do not leave here to blend with the scenery to come."