Cece Easley, Arts & Tech Editor
Known for gathering creative talent from all over the high school, Poetry Fest was back in full swing for the first time in three years, taking place on Thursday May 19th. Not only does it foster excellent writing, but the annual event provides an opportunity for all students to share work and support other writers and classmates.
Each year, English teacher Kristen Brown is responsible for organizing and gathering support for the event. “It all begins with getting the word out there,” Ms. Brown said. “I start with the English department and encourage all of my colleagues to discuss the Poetry Fest with their classes.”
Prior classroom experience encourages many students to enter Poetry Fest. “Most of us do poetry units in class and are aware of students who are talented,” Ms. Brown said. In addition to spreading awareness for the event through other English teachers, an announcement is also made on NCTV to gather entries.
According to Ms. Brown, Poetry Fest is an authentic writing opportunity to build growth. “So much of our writing just gets submitted and discarded, but real authentic writing is meant to be shared and published. It’s an event that’s open to everyone, and anyone who wants to participate is welcome. This is one of the unique ways where anyone, from a senior to a freshman can be involved.”
With entries from all types of students in different grades, Poetry Fest creates a welcoming and safe atmosphere to share personal writing. “It’s a way to share your work and be proud of your writing,” Ms. Brown said. “It pulls a really great group of students who love to write and will take risks and support each other in front of a crowd.”
Due to the setbacks from Covid in previous years, this year’s participants were all new to Poetry Fest. “It’s been an annual event for well over a decade. The last two years we had to cancel it because of the pandemic, so I was unsure about whether it would be popular again,” Ms. Brown said. “I was so pleased that so many people showed up for it, which is a testament that this school really values writing and is invested in the work that we create.”
Poetry Fest is known for being largely student run, with two students hosting the event by announcing participants and handing out awards. According to Junior Avery Laird, a host from Ms. Brown’s English class, she decided to host for the opportunity to speak to a large audience, step out of her comfort zone, and see other students do the same. “Everyone had the opportunity to either make new poems or share old ones. I decided to share a poem from middle school.”
Avery shared a nostalgic poem about her childhood memories in order to remember a special moment and bring to life the friendship and simplicity of youth. “I was one of the last poems to go, and after reading about 40 names, I felt comfortable reading my poem in front of everyone because everyone showed vulnerability in their poems.” she said.
Junior Cameron Wietfeldt also decided to participate in Poetry Fest by reading a poem titled “Lines in the Water”, which detailed his fishing experiences. He took interest in the event after hearing about the opportunity in class. “I entered because of my teacher Ms. Brown, who has fostered my growth as a writer this year,” he said. “She created an event that was easy to enter and inclusive of all students, and this helped me to branch out and share my poem.”
At the end of the event, prizes and honorary mentions were awarded to selected poems. According to Avery, handing out the prizes was the highlight of Poetry Fest, because she enjoyed the surprise and happiness of each winner.
However, the award ceremony is Ms. Brown’s least favorite part. “There are so many wonderful poems that it is very difficult to choose the winners,” she said. “Kids enjoy the motivating factor of a prize, but picking the winners is impossible with so many great entries.”
The return of Poetry Fest was ultimately a success for everyone involved. “Participating was a unique experience. We were lucky to have the event this year, and seeing different writers, including students I didn’t know share their work was great,” said Cameron.
