Library Hosts 2nd Annual Poetry Night
May 8, 2017
The Poetry Club hosted its 2nd Annual Poetry Night on April 20 from 6:30-8:00pm in the library.
According to junior Poetry Club president Athya Uthayakumar, not everything went according to plan. “We had some unexpected things happen, like the local poet we wanted to come couldn’t come at the last minute,” she said.
Uthayakumar added that none of singers for the event showed up, but still considered it “a really nice night of sharing poetry.”
“I think it went better than expected; when you’re planning an event you’re never sure if people are going to come or what they’re going to think,” said librarian Sarah Morgan. “I thought the variety of poems was really fun; there were some fun lighthearted ones and some really deep poems. I also enjoyed seeing the kids’ performance styles. Some were kind of shy and some were totally into it.”
Uthayakumar’s own little sister surprised the audience by dedicating her poem to Uthayakumar. “It was the cutest thing ever! I gave her a hug because usually she’s not that sentimental with me. It was really sweet of her and I really appreciated it,” she said.
Uthayakumar recognized that some students may have attended just for the extra credit. “I invited a lot of people personally, and Mr. Woolridge gave extra credit for attending, so a lot of people came,” she said.
Freshman Julia Parsons was one of those hoping for extra credit. “I did go for my teacher’s extra credit,” said Parsons. “I would’ve gone anyways because it was fun to listen to the poems. I would definitely go next year.”
“Next year I think we should invite more people from the community like maybe some graduates from Campo or maybe get the Intuitive Writing Project out of Orinda and students from Miramonte, so it’s not just a Campo event, and it’s more of an open mic event. I think overall I would just make it bigger next year,” Moragan said.
“On the night as a whole, we could have added more activities to do. It was pretty fast-paced, so we could add things like poetry circles or other writing exercises could be fun. It could also add a variety of experiences all in one night,” Uthayakumar added.
Since Uthayakumar will be a senior next year, she hopes to continue Poetry Night, but she is unsure what will happen after she graduates. “After that [graduation,] I’ll have to make sure that Poetry Club continues and uphold the tradition I’ve created,” she said.
