The Upper Peninsula is home to a distinct dialect, commonly referred to as Yoopernese or Yooper-English. While well-known in Marquette, this is only one of many unique languages spoken in the U.P., as demonstrated by the Poetry without Borders event that took place on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
From 5:30-7 p.m., NMU students, faculty and members of the Marquette community gathered in the Northern Center to celebrate the Upper Peninsula’s linguistic diversity as part of the two-day UNITED Conference.
The UNITED Conference: Uniting Neighbors in the Experience of Diversity aims to “advance justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) on campus and in the broader Marquette community,” according to NMU Events & Announcements.
Anna Zimmer, associate professor of German and assistant director of the NMU honors program, organized the event in association with the Languages, Literatures and International Studies department. Presenters recited 17 poems in 17 languages, including Finnish, German, Burmese and Anishinaabemowin, among others.
“There’s a lot of linguistic diversity in our area,” Zimmer said. “You just have to dig for it a little bit.”
Originally held in 2017, Poetry without Borders seeks to give those with connections to non-English languages a platform to share their cultural backgrounds. Now in 2025, the event marks its third annual occurrence after a three-year hiatus due to COVID.
Among the presenters was Nora Lynch, a speech, language and hearing sciences student, who passionately translated her poem in American Sign Language (ASL).
Lynch first presented at the event in 2023, and after being unable to attend the previous year, she was extremely excited to return and share with an audience of close to 100 people.
“ASL is often seen as English on the hands, which it really isn’t,” Lynch said. “This is a way for people to realize that. It’s a beautiful language that needs to be shared.”
Other presenters included students in Zimmer’s GR 302 class, who performed “One Day/Reckoning Text,” written by German slam poet Julia Engelmann. The poem, which directly references and draws from the original song by Asaf Avidan & the Mojos, explores themes of time and the prioritization of the present moment. Members of the class took turns reciting sections of the poem in German, displaying their impressive pronunciation abilities to listeners.
Another notable moment of community involvement occurred during the reading from Marquette Senior High School. A group of students participated by reciting poems in Japanese, Burmese and Ukrainian, adding to the multitude of diverse voices present at the event.
“I think it’s really powerful to share language with others,” Zimmer said after all the speakers had finished. “To practice this kind of compassionate listening, even if we don’t understand one another.”
If you weren’t able to attend, Zimmer plans to continue this unique experience well into the future, hoping to shed light on the linguistic diversity that is often overlooked in Marquette and the Upper Peninsula.
