On October 21st, nine Fieldston students traveled to Newark for the biennial Dodge Poetry Festival where they had the opportunity to watch eminent contemporary poets read their work and discuss their love of the art. The trip was organized by Upper School English teacher Mr. Morse, who is a widely acclaimed poet himself.
“I think the festival offers students a chance to see a wide variety of poets virtually under one roof” plus you share the experience with thousands of kids from all over the country who attend,” said Morse.
Over the years, the Poetry Festival has drawn a total of over 175,000 people from 43 states, including over 52,000 high school students who attend free of charge from as far away as California and Minnesota. It is the largest poetry event in North America.
At 8:30AM, students gathered in the monumental hall of the Oculus building and boarded the PATH train to Newark. While on board, they chatted about which poets they were excited to see and eagerly read over the itinerary for the day. At 9:30, there were five readings and Q & A’s to choose from: Former Poet Laureate, Billy Collins, was giving a reading at the Prudential Hall, American Book Award winner Li-Young Lee was discussing the purpose of poetry at the Trinity and St. Phillips Cathedral, and the list goes on.
Shaoli Yusef, (VI) along with several others, said that her favorite event was “From Homer to Hip Hop: On Poetry and the Oral Tradition.” This hour long discussion focused on the evolving role poetry plays in our society as both a personal and political instrument of progress.
“It was so fun, so relatable,” Shaoli exclaimed. Shaoli attended the session facilitated by poets Sam Sax (winner of the National Poetry Series), Fatima Asghar, and Marilyn Chin.
“I really didn’t expect to see an Asian woman on stage today, but Marilyn proved me so wrong. She was owning her stage presence and challenging all of the ideas and stereotypes attached to Asians. I had never felt more proud and connected to my Chinese culture. My favorite metaphor about Asian assimilation was the image of frying an egg. Chin stated, ‘crack an egg into a hot skillet and the yellow oozes into the white.’ I will never look at eggs the same way again.”
Ella Matza (VI) said that her favorite event was from 12:35-1:40, titled “Poems and Conversation: Readings and Q & A.” The event was facilitated by Mahogony L. Brown, Ellen Hagan, and Brenda Hillman.
“Ellen wrote a poem about Seventeen magazine,” noted Ella. “The first half of the poem only used the words of titles from past articles and issues of Seventeen, which were all about looks. At one point she said three titles that used the word sexy, and then repeated the word sexy 3 or 4 times. Then, when she got to that part in the second half of the poem, she said (I can’t remember the exact word but I think it was) smart, smart, smart, smart. She was such a quirky writer, and I thought it was such a cool glimpse into her poetic progress.”
At 1:40, students reconvened to head back to the PATH train, equipped with umbrellas and notebooks in hand.
“I would absolutely recommend the festival, even to someone who absolutely hates poetry, because I think that some of these poets can change their mind,” Ella urged.
“Totally,” Shaoli agreed. “Even if you think you’ll hate 90% of it. I gaurentee you’ll find something to connect to.”
“As for students who don’t think they’re into poetry,” said Morse. “Saying you’re not into poetry is like saying you’re not into breathing. If you think; if you feel; if you emote, feel confused, frustrated, or cray-cray happy; if you enjoy language and how it can make music and make meaning and make you more conscious of the world around you and the others with whom you share this space for a relatively brief moment in time… what’s not to love?!”
The festival ran from Thursday, October 20th through Sunday the 23rd. It was definitely a big hit, so freshmen and sophomores, keep an out for it when it returns in 2018.
