SUNY Oswego students in two classes recently had a special guest in Ricardo Nazario y Colón, a well-respected Nuyorican poet who is also the Senior Vice Chancellor of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion/Chief Diversity Officer for the SUNY System.

English and creative writing faculty member Roberta Hurtado invited Nazario y Colón, whom she especially connected with as a member of the 2023 SUNY Hispanic Leadership Institute. Nazario y Colón visited Hurtado’s ENG 238 class –- “Introduction to Latino Cultural Expression: Reading Latinos" –- as well as Michael Chaness’ NAS 100 “Introduction to Native American Studies” course, both on Feb. 15.

“It's always a humbling honor to have artists be willing to join a class that I'm teaching,” Hurtado said. “That they want to work with me and the students to explore their writings, to share their thoughts and opinions. And that not just a poet we are reading but someone who is also the Senior Vice Chancellor of DEI, Chief Diversity Officer of SUNY – well, I don't have the words for it.”

In addition, Nazario y Colón returned to campus to keynote SUNY Oswego’s Educational Opportunity Program Conference on Feb. 24.

Nazario y Colón is a published poet with numerous publications in journals and anthologies. He has authored two full collections, “The Moor of the Bronx” and “Of Jíbaros and Hillbillies,” and one chapbook, “The Recital.” He is an accomplished administrator with over 30 years of experience in various industries including higher education, business, the U.S. Military and state government. 

“His enthusiasm to meet with students, members of the administration, staff members and other faculty is a testament to his own sense of the important work that we do here at Oswego and how it fits into the fabric of the SUNY system as a whole,” Hurtado noted. “He spoke to me about how much he learned from Dr. Chaness's class – about how compelling of an instructor he is and how much he learned from Michael's single session.”

In ENG 238, Nazario y Colón spoke about his life, growing up in the Bronx, and the people he narrates in his poetry, and Hurtado was pleased that Dean of Liberal Arts and Science Kristin Croyle visited as well. 

“In that class, students got to hear about the birth of hip hop from someone who was actually there when it was happening,” Hurtado said, adding it was a wonderful opportunity “to hear the thoughts and reflections of someone who witnessed so many social injustices and has risen to such a high position in higher education.”

After the class, Nazario y Colón took time to sign books for students. According to Hurtado, some students wished they had time to explore other poems during the class.

“To me, that's a win because it means how much they get from the poetry and how much more they want to explore both within a poem and about it,” Hurtado said. 

‘Amazing’ visit

Students in Hurtado’s class agreed, with Denise Segundo describing the visit as “amazing,” as well as helpful in communicating the meaning behind his poems and the value of this art form.

“The background story and motive behind writing ‘Moor of The Bronx’ was very intriguing,” Segundo said.

“The book was inspiring and what made it more touching is the fact that though I can’t fully resonate with the author’s experience growing up in the Bronx, I am well aware of what he is talking about because I grew up in Brooklyn, a 45-to-60-minute commute from the Bronx,” Segundo said. “I know individuals who grew up in the Bronx and the stereotypes people have to those who reside in the area, hence it all makes sense of the message Nazario y Colón is trying to get across to his audience.”

“It was really cool having his first-person account, having him explain the origins of all of his poems, where they came from,” said Kaylee Troy, another student in the class.

Troy noted that Nazario y Colón was very down-to-earth, just sitting back and listening to class discussions and reactions to his work, as they did a deep dive into one of his poems.  

“He was very receptive to our thoughts on his work and where he was coming from for his poetry,” Troy said.

“It was definitely one of the more moving raw real pieces of literature we’ve read in the class, so we enjoyed learning about it from his point of view,” Troy said. “He drew a makeshift map of the Bronx and we got to learn more about the neighborhood where he grew up.” 

The class and the book-signing were “just awesome,” Troy added. “He wrote a little note to each of us as well. He’s a really nice, genuine human being and I just love that he took time out of his busy schedule to come and talk to our class about his book.”

Katy Lynk said that having such an accomplished and influential author in class benefited students in many ways, “but I believe that the main way it benefitted me personally was hearing why he wrote his poems and the creative process behind them.” 

“As an English major, I do a lot of literature analysis; this means that I am constantly interpreting and creating arguments for literature pieces that I may not fully or completely correctly understand,” Lynk said. “So, having Ricardo Nazario y Colón join our class and discuss his writing gave me a new perspective on how I should be reading his poems and how I might interpret his works.”

Lynk appreciated how Nazario y Colón “went above and beyond for my class.” 

“He drew out a map of the place he discusses in his book, he told us stories of his childhood and the hardships he has faced that have brought him to where he is today,” Lynk said. “Overall, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity I was given to meet this author and I believe that it has truly benefited me as a student and a writer.” 

Hurtado appreciated Nazario y Colón’s generosity in making the long trip, touring campus and especially connecting with students.

“We are truly fortunate to have had him visit for the day and for having him in the SUNY system,” Hurtado said.