At the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year, Holyoke High’s Poetry Society unfortunately lost one of its beloved staff advisers, Mrs. Trial,  when she left HHS to pursue other passions.  However, even with this sad loss, the HHS Poetry Society stays strong with staff advisor Ms.Fitzell-Stevens and has high hopes for the club this school year.

“Mrs. Trial was the heart and the spirit of Poetry Society,” explains Ms. Fitzell. “But this year, myself and a few new interested staff members hope to keep her spirit and positivity alive in the club.”

Poetry Society is excited to welcome Holyoke High’s newest Vice Principal, Ms.Chassman, as a club advisor. “Ms. Chassman has experience in slam poetry and will be a wonderful asset to the club,” said Ms. Fitzell. Along with Ms. Chassman, several other staff members have also shown interest in the year old club.

At the end of the 2015-2016 school year, the club began exploring slam poetry and slam competitions after Ms. Fitzell made some very helpful connections in the slam world. This year, they hope to pursue this even further, creating Holyoke High’s first ever slam poetry team.

“The connections are there,” says an excited Mrs. Fitzell. “Now, it’s just all about hitting the marks.”

Along with this exciting proposition, Poetry Society will continue to meet weekly in Room 105 and plans on holding more than one poetry event at HHS. They also continue to warmly accept new members interested in reading, writing, performing, or simply listening to poetry!