Poet Sonia Sanchez brings message of peace to Chestnut Hill

Chestnut Hill enjoyed an afternoon of listening to inspirational poetry and learning about the stories behind the words with Philadelphia’s inaugural Poet Laureate, Sonia Sanchez, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Sunday. She held a reading to commemorate a visit by Eleanor Roosevelt to the church some 64 years ago.  

At that time, the former First Lady was presented with the first ever National Fellowship Award by the Philadelphia Fellowship Commission, a civil and human rights organization.

Sanchez mesmerized the nearly 100 attendees with poems that imbibed the messages of peace and social equality.

Equally compelling was Sanchez’ account of her tribulations and triumphs as a life-long educator and activist.

  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

The author of more than 16 published books and recipient of numerous prestigious awards, Sanchez is the inspiration behind the Mural Arts and First Person Arts project titled, Peace is a Haiku Song. The program aims to use haiku form as a means of reflecting on peace. Philadelphians are encouraged to be a part of the interactive public art project through social media.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal