Philip Levine: A Celebration comes almost exactly one year after the professor emeritus and former National Poet Laureate, passed away.

Levine was in the department of English for 30 years, however, passed away during Valentine’s Day in 2015.

Saul Jimenez-Sandoval, dean of Arts and Humanities, did the opening for Levine’s celebration.

“It’s truly an honor to have all of you here,” Jimenez-Sandoval said. “He helped us discover the jewels that make us who we are.”

Levine was born in Detroit, Michigan and began working at the age of 14 in a plant that manufactured car parts. He was well known for his poetry about the working class in Detroit. He received his bachelors degree from Wayne State University and his masters from the University of Iowa.

He began teaching at Fresno State in 1958 up until his retirement in 1992. Throughout his years he received more than 10 different awards for his poetry and was appointed Poet Laureate of the United State from 2011 to 2012.

During the celebration people spoke about their experiences either working with or being a student of Levine at Fresno State.

Kathy Fagan, an English professor at Ohio State University, is an author of four books of poems and a former student of Levine. She was 18 years old when she first took Levine’s workshop and at first was in danger of failing. She said Levine told her to collect all her works of poems and bring them to his office so they could discuss her grade in the class. Fagan said that although she would start on her poems she had trouble finishing them.

“I asked him if I could do extra credit for a C and he told me ‘How about you finish at least one of the poems you’ve started and I’ll give you a B’,” Fagan said.

She shared that Levine was not her mentor, not because she did not learn from him, but because she did not realize at the time he had inspired her to become a poet.

“He left a dictionary of angels for us, it’s filled with our names,” Fagan said.

Jon Veinberg, an author of five books of poems received his bachelor’s from Fresno State, where he also studied poetry with Levine. Veinberg shared a story while taking Levine’s class involving an essay that he wrote.

Veinburg said Levine was known for being very humorous, but also a teacher who would tell you like it was.

“He told me that my essay had touched him, but that I was not allowed to tell anyone. I asked him ‘why?’ he said ‘because I don’t want people knowing that we touched each other,’” Veinberg said.

“Philip Levine taught me how to live inside of a poem,” Veinburg said. “He told me once ‘I believe that you belong here, among the music of words.”

Veinberg lived and worked in Fresno most of his career and is one of many former students that has been inspired by Levine.

Liza Wieland, a short story writer and poet, taught along side Levine at Fresno State, before she began teaching at East Carolina University. Wieland shared her take on the lasting effect of poetry.

“The poem makes the poet immortal,” Wieland said.

Levine has made a lasting effect at Fresno State through this poetry and career of teaching.