Date: 04/12/2010

I stand four-square upon the ancient earth,
And keep my hold on the solid real;
Yet, like a soul that seeks a newer birth,
I climb in joy unto the high ideal.

Early 20th-century California poet laureate Henry Meade Bland wrote "The College Tower Speaks," inspired by Tower Hall, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. All faculty, staff, students and alumni are invited to stop by the second floor of the beloved campus landmark from Monday, April 12, through Wednesday, April 21, to sign a birthday banner. Please return at 11:15 a.m. Thursday, April 22, to see the banner unfurled and enjoy refreshments as part of SJSU's Legacy of Poetry Day celebration. Bland and Edwin Markham, a Bland contemporary and fellow SJSU poet, are memorialized with plaques on Tower's exterior walls.

Read more on Legacy of Poetry Day.

Read more on poetry at SJSU (page 8) [PDF].

Join "Poetry to the People," SJSU's National Poetry Month celebration.