NORFOLK, Neb. – Gender and growing up in the 1980s were among the topics when Northeast Community College hosted renowned poet and University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor Dr. Stacey Waite on Tuesday.

Waite is a poet, scholar and educator originally from long Island, having earned an MFA and Ph.D from the University of Pittsburgh. Waite read a collection of poems, often touching on the influence of gender across different avenues of life.

“Norfolk, Nebraska needs to shake it up a bit,” said Northeast English instructor Bonnie Johnson-Bartee, who arranged for Waite to present. “We have a lot of students here who need a voice or need to find their voice, and having more representation of people who have been through what they’ve been through and are standing proud of who they are gives them the courage. Why wouldn’t you want that for anyone?”

Waite, who mentioned during the reading that reactions to poems about gender can sometimes elicit angry responses, said the energy from the audience was positive.

“I was surprised by the turnout,” Waite said. “Poetry readings are kind of hit or miss in turns of what the outcome is. There were a ton of people here. There was really great energy, great questions, so I was really happy to be here.”

Johnson-Bartee, who noted that Northeast presidents past and present were in the audience, said it was an eye-opening experience for some of her students.

“The students were, many of whom had never been to a poetry reading before, they were like, ‘Wow, that was good,’” Johnson-Bartee said.

Waite has published four collections of poems. Waite’s most recent scholarly book, Teaching Queer, was published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in May 2017.

The free presentation was sponsored by the Northeast Community College English Department through its Visiting Writers Series.