Poems that Matter

The Importance of Poetry Club

by Abigail Davidzon 

Poetry Club is a place where any individual can learn how to write poems or even small pieces of literature. People usually hear the words “poem” or “poetry,” and they try to immediately distance themselves from reading any literature of that nature. Usually people complain about reading poems, because “they are just too hard to understand,” but in the Poetry club, they discuss each poem and try to break it down into small sections, so each individual student can learn it easier. Besides reading poems, the officers within the club encourage us to write our own poems, so we can present to the class and other students can give their opinions on how they feel or how they interpret a particular poem. The club meets every Monday after school from 2:30-3:30 in room 425.

Poetry is a type of literature that conveys a thought or feelings that describes a scene or even tells a story in a concentrated, lyrical arrangement of words. The main purpose of poetry is to express one’s feelings or emotions, which can have a positive impact on social and emotional learning for children or students. Poetry can also use metaphors and imagery to paint a picture or a narrative, for the readers to interpret. Within the Poetry Club, all of the officers genuinely care and are always concerned about their club members. Every Monday when poetry club begins, the officers ask each individual student how they are doing, and how their weekend was. The officers do some research over the weekend to find poems that they like, and then they put it on google slides, so all of the club members can interpret what is the true meaning behind that poem “I feel like good poetry is whenever it’s emotional, but I feel like bad poetry is when people are writing to please others. I feel like poetry should just be about what you want to write and how you feel,” sophomore Christian Phelps said. If the club members feel comfortable, then they can volunteer to stand in front of the class and read their poems out loud. After that individual student is done, all of the other club members will raise their hands, and they will try to explain how they interpret the poem.

The officers within the club wanted to start a poetry club as a way to express themselves with other people. “I might be biased because I’m the president but I think it’s a good idea for people to explore poetry, because it can teach you how to express your emotions through writing,” said sophomore Jayme Gebman. All of the officers recommended, always putting your thoughts down on paper and putting those thoughts into emotions.  Phelps and Gebman have been writing poetry for a few years now, and their love for poetry inspired them to create a club, so others would fall in love with the literature of writing poetry. Immediately, when they started the club, there was this boom of acceptance and everybody wanted to join, and everybody was asking all of the officers when Poetry club was going to start. Within the club, all of the meetings mainly focus around people supporting other people, and all of the club members just having a good time with each other.

To conclude, Poetry club is a very eye opening and helpful club that can provide comfort and boost people’s mood during periods of stress, trauma, and grief. Poetry can also be extremely therapeutic, which can help that individual person express their emotions more, since they are writing it down on paper, which can make that person more comfortable with expressing their thoughts or feelings to other people. Writing poetry might intimidate you at first, especially as a beginner, but once you start writing your emotions on paper it opens a form of conversation and dialogue between you or several people at once.  Those experiences and knowledge are exactly what you need to benefit from the reading and interpretation of poetry.