As April, which is National Poetry Month, approached, Timia McCoade (VI) and Lena Habtu (VI) sought to create a space within the Fieldston community for aspiring poets to share their own pieces, an event they described as “our love letter to the art form of poetry.” The 2022 Annual Fieldston Poetry Assembly, held on March 31, showcased eight student works (Soren Stearns (V), Grace Negroni (III), Lena Habtu, Catherine Hou (VI), Remy Lipman (IV), Hannah Mayerfield (V) (read by Michael Morse), Timia McCoade, Wesley Mitchell (III)) and four faculty speakers (Vincent Drybala, Robert Greenwald, Gia Moreno, Arhm Wild). Featured topics included trans identity, mental health and self-renewal, and even math. Math teacher Moreno attests that Greenwald “brought down the house” with the upperclassman performance of his playful calculus poem.
McCoade, who will head to Northwestern University this fall as a creative writing and cognitive science major, received a 2021 Scholastic Art & Writing National Gold Medal and a 2021 Scholastic Art & Writing American Voices Medal. Habtu, co-president of Fieldston Student Government and a soon-to-be Swarthmore sociology major, was awarded an honorable mention in the poetry category of the 2021 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, and won a silver key in the personal essay & memoir category of the 2020 National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, to name a few. To truly appreciate Habtu and McCoade’s talent, however, one need only have attended the assembly, where they performed their original poems, “spacetimecontinuum,” and “She/Her/Hers,” respectively.
In her assembly introduction, Habtu marveled that she has been writing for “as long as I can remember, really. Looking back on the poems I wrote when I was seven or eight years old, I’m really shocked by the extent to which my poems allowed me to be perceptive and introspective before I really knew how to tap into that consciously.” McCoade also began writing poetry early (fifth grade), and it has since become one of the most important aspects of their life. “Through poetry I feel as though I am able to express my emotions and my lived experiences in a way that I cannot do through speech or other forms of writing,” they say. Other poets, including Hou, agree that writing can frequently function as a mode for processing and reflecting on emotions. “When I go back to proofread my work, and to not only explain it for myself, but for others, it allows me to go through the layers of my experiences,” Hou says.
Hou’s poem challenges societally accepted misogyny and sexual harassment. “It was based on personal experiences for sure,” she said. “Being a woman and some of the things I’ve gone through. But it was also inspired by a number of things that I’ve read about women and gender inequalities that we’ve normalized and don’t even realize.” She rarely shares her work – and when she does, “I certainly don’t read it aloud.” After boredom turned into creativity over spring break, Hou’s friends encouraged her to submit the piece. Though it was a daunting feat, the poet admitted she might even consider participating in something similar in the future. Moreno, also initially hesitant to participate, shared the poem “Warning” by Jenny Joseph. “The biggest thing was I feel like we need to be a bigger part of our community,” Moreno said, “So, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, and did that.”
The assembly was widely received as a success and had a clear positive effect on audience members. “People really put their heart into this work,” said Hou. “I think that’s one of the biggest takeaways. If people listened to the messages and felt compelled to look into them, even if it just reached one person, that’s great.” Gregory Brooks (III), feels similarly. “The nature of poets is to be poetic by proximity – if you’re around good poetry, it can influence anyone,” they said.
In 1996, the Academy of American Poets tapped into the same idea when they implemented National Poetry Month. Inspired by Black History Month and Women’s History Month, which successfully drew attention to their causes through the mainstream media, the Academy hoped that national recognition would revitalize appreciation and respect for the craft.
In an increasingly technological world, where dopamine flows fast and cheap with each slavish scroll, April provides a reminder to relax, reset, and return to a more organic gratification. Ceaseless rains plunge the earth into a cycle of renewal, inviting us to luxuriate in the brilliantly raw creations of our own glorious minds. Even on social media, popular trends include “Escapril,” which prompts poets to write and share a poem based on a new daily theme.
Poets, too, attained a more profound awareness of those around them through the assembly. McCoade explains, “In reading and listening to poetry, I feel as though I am offered insight into others’ ways of thinking and living, both artistically and more literally.” Morse agrees, “I can think of no greater tool for empathy.”
Certainly, poetry provides an incredible avenue for enriched mutual understanding – throughout human history, oral storytelling has been the very root of connection. The songlines of indigenous Australians, the griots of West Africa, and the epics of the Greeks all stand as testaments to our innate desire to seek comfort in shared experiences, and to narrate our own. Over the years, this necessity has blossomed into myriad modes of visionary self-expression, including poetry. The Fieldston School itself has produced a number of notable poets of the years, including Muriel Rukeyser (‘30), Howard Nemerov (‘37), and Gil Scott-Heron (‘67).
Interested, but unsure of how to get started? “Starting to write is honestly such a personal thing,” says Hou. “I think my one piece of advice is to never write if you don’t want to. If it’s going to speak to you and to other people, it has to come from your own experiences and own voice. The world has so many different voices, and a lot of those voices are trying to be exactly the same. So, when you write, just – don’t do that. Infuse your own voice into it, and it’ll stand out.”
