Karen Lin, Senior Photographer

How do we think about joy and delight? 

On Wednesday afternoon, poet and writer Ross Gay spoke to a crowd in Battell Chapel about how joy can help us find what is beautiful. The event, which was attended by Yalies and community members, was sponsored by the Yale College Dean’s Office; Belonging at Yale and the Lamont Endowed Lectureship; Yale Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity and Transnational Migration; the Yale University Chaplain’s Office and Ezra Stiles College.

“Ross Gay has been a person of importance to many kinds of readers. He’s exceptional in the way that he’s reached many communities and readers through his work. We chose to collaborate with the Chaplain’s Office because Maytal Saltiel has used his writing in her pastoral work,” said Alicia Schmidt Camacho, head of Ezra Stiles College. 

In addition to meeting with members of on-campus poetry organizations, Gay, who is also a community gardener, met with students from the Yale farm and the Chaplain’s Office.

During his visit to New Haven, Gay also hosted a reading and book signing at Hamden’s Possible Futures bookstore.

Gay has written four books of poetry, “Against Which,” “Bringing the Shovel Down,” “Be Holding” and “Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude.” He has also written three collections of essays, “The Book of Delights,” “Inciting Joy” and “The Book of (More) Delights.” His main interests lie in finding joy and delight in the everyday. 

“Mastery is the opposite of delight, the know-it-all has nothing to delight in,” said Gay, who spoke in conversation with University Chaplain Maytal Saltiel at the event. The two talked about the importance of joy in helping to carry our sorrows. Saltiel noted that she views Gay’s work as deeply spiritual and is also interested in how to find delight and joy.

The event received special support from Dean of Yale College Pericles Lewis as part of an inaugural program for fostering dialogues and civic engagement on campus. “We try to support a range of speakers from different backgrounds so that students can learn from people who are leaders in their fields,” wrote Dean Lewis to the News.

Schmidt Camacho also noted the importance of bringing people together to enjoy art and poetry since the pandemic, not only in Stiles but across New Haven. At Stiles, she has hosted staff art shows, ran a film festival and organized pop-up concerts. Earlier this year, two first-years painted a mural at a local New Haven store and hosted a reception at Ezra Stiles. Last year, she brought Ada Limón, the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States.

One of those first years, Katelyn Wang ’27, was in attendance at Gay’s talk. She became familiar with his work in high school when she read the “Book of Delights” and was excited about hearing from the poet himself. 

“I enjoyed when he offered a reading of his work. It was very different than simply reading his words on paper—you could hear his emotions and storytelling come to life,” Wang wrote to the News. “Gay has a very down to earth, authentic personality, and that was magnified when he delivered his poetry as stories.” 

Battell Chapel was constructed between 1874 and 1876.