Poetry Reading by Evan Wang

2026 Symposium

Key Takeaways

The central text, “From the Republic of Conscience” by Seamus Heaney, is a poetic allegory of a society governed by ethical clarity, humility, and shared responsibility.
From the Republic of Conscience imagines a “republic” where leadership requires accountability and emotional awareness, where public officials must “weep to atone” for power, and where citizens carry their own burdens rather than relying on systems of privilege. Its imagery of dual citizenship, moral obligation, and collective responsibility resonates with the idea that governance should be grounded in conscience rather than bureaucracy.
The poem reinforces the importance of stillness and listening as forms of action in global health. The idea that “standing up for something, sitting down and listening” reflects the symposium’s emphasis on collective action—not as noise or output, but as attentive engagement with others’ experiences. This aligns with global health practice that depends on community voice, trust, and responsiveness rather than top-down intervention alone.

“Global Health is poetry in practice.”

– Evan Wang

Speaker Details

Evan Wang ’29

Harvard College Class of ‘29, 2025-2026 National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States

Evan Wang (王潇) is the 9th National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States, the first male and Chinese individual to hold this title, and author of Slow Burn (Northwestern University Press, 2026). His work appears in POETRY Magazine, The Kenyon Review, Waxwing, Sixth Finch, and elsewhere. He has been featured at and recognized by the Biden White House, the United Nations, the Smithsonian Institution, and Google DeepMind. Deemed a “prodigy” by Teen Vogue, Evan is a first-year student at Harvard College.

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