The day before Thanksgiving break, anyone walking through the Stu Com during A/B band would have seen a mob of students crowded around the stage. The first ever Fieldston Coffeehouse Reading, hosted by the Icebox editors, took place on Tuesday the 26th. The reading featured a number of student artists who shared poetry, prose, and acoustic music. The event, a hybrid between the Poetry Assembly and Band Day, came about as a way to showcase the writers of Fieldston.
The main difference between this event and the official poetry assembly: no rules. Performers could say what they wanted, however they wanted to say it. As opposed to with a mandatory assembly, there was no need for censorship of any kind. An unsuspecting tour group found this out the hard way when they walked into a particularly bawdy dramatic reading by Tristan Gaines (VI) and Dylan Alesio (VI) and nervous laughter from the crowd.
“The main difference between this event and the offical poetry assembly: no rules”
The Coffeehouse resulted from weeks of planning on behalf of the dedicated, immensely talented Icebox editors – Amelia Nierenberg, Natalie Burke, Andres Vaamonde, Marcelo Rivera (just keep reading…), Charlotte Lee, and Jona Mensch (VI). Attended by nearly one hundred students and faculty, it was a rousing success. “It made me proud to go to Fieldston,” Andres Vaamonde stated. The other editors echoed his sentiment: “Just seeing so many kids and faculty from our school eager to listen to their friends and classmates was rewarding,” Charlotte Lee commented. “I was just incredibly impressed by the courage of my peers,” Amelia Nierenberg added. “Poetry is such as personal thing to share, no less read aloud. And the encouragement shown by the audience members was really exciting.”
It provided one-of-a-kind experience for the performers as well. “I was nervous,” reflected Ellis Maxwell (V), the first to perform. “But since it was so informal and student-based, I felt comfortable reading my piece, and everyone was very supportive.” Maxwell was one of over twenty students who volunteered to read their material.
The Coffeehouse exemplified the enormous talent present at the school. For those inspired by what they saw, there is another planned for the second semester. And the Icebox is always open to submissions.
