Voices of the Hi-Line celebrates diversity in the community

Montana State University-Northern will be presenting “Voices of the Hi-Line at the university’s Little Theatre Wednesday, April 11, at 7 p.m.

This event is free and open to the public and is being hosted by the Office of Diversity Awareness and Multicultural Programs and English departments. It is being presented in conjunction with National Poetry Month.

According to a promotional poster, Voices of the Hi-Line “celebrate the beauty of poetry and languages in the form of poems, chants, and songs in the other languages our community speaks.”

This is the second year this performance has taken place. Valerie Guyant, Ph.D., an associate professor of English at Northern, said that the organizers are expecting around 25 community members to participate in this event.

Everyone in the region is encouraged to participate or come and watch the show, she said.

The event is “meant to celebrate the diverse cultures on the Hi-Line,” Guyant said. “It is celebrating our backgrounds.”

Guyant said her goal is to have all the different languages of the region represented.

“A number of people are presenting in their native tongue,” Guyant said, “and some are presenting in a language they have learned.”

She added that she is happy that some people are presenting in a language that they are learning so they can “explore the language of their heritage.”

Guyant said she is particularly excited that this year they will have presenters in the Samoan and Swahili languages. She added that they will also have ancient and modern Hebrew language, presented.

Creative languages are also welcome, Guyant said. She said she is looking forward to having a faculty member presenting in an Elvish language.

“I am hoping each year more people will know about (this event),” Guyant said.

People who are interested in presenting a poem, chant or song Wednesday at Voices of the Hi-Line can contact Guyant at 265-4173 or [email protected] by Monday.