On Thursday, April 28, Holyoke High’s recently-created Poetry Society held its first ever event. Starting at 5:30 p.m., family, friends, staff, community members, and, most importantly, young poets filled the band room to celebrate April as National Poetry Month. Everyone gathered together to admire breathtaking poetry performed in front of a live audience.

First, Holyoke High English teachers and club advisors Mrs. Fitzell-Stevens and Mrs. Trial welcomed the community to the event and explained how much the poetry club means to them as well as the members. Ms. Fitzell-Stevens told The Herald, on behalf of both her and Mrs. Trial, “we both feel very honored and privileged to be able to supervise this club because of their talent, passion, and support.”

The event kicked off with performances from two of the three co-founders, Manon Nadeau ’17 and Sarah Healy ’17. Nadeau’s poem was an exposé on the reality of the minuscule lives we as humans live compared to the immense population of the Earth and entire solar system. Healy’s performance focused on the decay of humans’ social abilities due to the complex, advanced technology we rely on.

Following superb performances by the two ladies, other Poetry Society members gave heartfelt performances, touching on many subjects such as lost family members, heartbreak, or even the education system. All spoken word poems were beautifully written and performed and it proved to be the perfect place to show off the talented young poets and their work.

After the line up of members from the Poetry Society, the second half was open-mic style where anyone who wished could step up the microphone and read their poetry. This extended the celebration of poetry to not only the club members, but also gave outside community members or Holyoke High students the opportunity to engage with poetry directly by performing their own pieces. Students from Holyoke High who are not members of the club participated, and certainly brought their talents to center stage, as they left the crowd speechless.

If you were not able to make it to this particular event, stay tuned for updates on future events sponsored by the Holyoke High School Poetry Society!