Students Connect Through Poetry

Photo: Larissa Hebert

In the dim room of the Flynn Space, 19 Rice Memorial High School students gathered Friday the 21st with a variety of other schools to escape the brisk November air for the annual Youth Poetry Summit held by Sundog Poetry.

Met with warm banana bread and unfamiliar smiles, the students began their day with encouraging words from Djeli Celestia, who is known as Djeli, an empowering and comforting individual who automatically created a sense of interconnectedness.

 “What you have to bring to poetry, what you do bring to poetry is needed, is necessary,” said Djeli. “I invite you to not let comparison of your work, of your art, of your practice. Take a deep breath and when we let it out, let out with a hum or a growl…Each of these things whether it’s the hum or the howl or the ah is what your poetry does to those that are in relation with it.”

The students then broke off into their first two respective workshops. Gina Stevensen lead students into exploring the intertwine of music and poetry by playing different instrumented music and asking students to explore what sort of result that brings them on the page. Stevensen is a martial arts practitioner and has a background in physical theatre and dance. “I write for the whole body, seeking through physicality and kinetic energy what cannot be expressed in spoken language” as they describe their work in their artist statement. Stevensen encouraged students to be inspired by what is always around them: music. 

“Before the Youth Poetry Summit, I had no idea I was capable of writing poetry,” said junior Eden Roberts. “The workshops brought a welcoming atmosphere that made it easy to connect with students, share our ideas, and share our poetry out loud, which is something I usually don’t feel comfortable enough to do. Collaborating over ideas and feelings when participating in sharing poetry was truly a special experience.”

Students rotated into their second workshops of the afternoon; some joined Rice’s very own English teacher Larissa Hebert for nostalgic drawings of personal places individuals considered home which lead into a creative writing opportunity. 

 Other students joined the story weaver who has traveled the world collecting stories. Djeli pushed students to dive into the vessel of which poetry is created: ourselves. Following structured questions such as “my name is”, “my words mean this”, Djeli reminded students the power of our words, and how much the world needs them.

Photo: TJ Matarazzo

“I see the rising stars of poetry,” said Djeli. “We need you to let your light shine…I write poetry from the heart. You have choices and you can follow the directions. You can not follow the directions. You can make new directions. We have the ability to take people to different places. This is a recipe used to find your own way to cook.”

Surrounded by new connections made from collaboration within workshops or exchange of claps after shared pieces, the students regathered to enjoy a lunch of Flatbread pizza.

To end the day, an open mic event took place and students were eager to share their work. 

Gathering up on the stage, students took on the vulnerability and were met with cheers of support and admiration from their peers. One student, Endonusem Pomeyie from Colchester High School, touched the hearts of the audience as he recited a personal piece, entitled “The Day I Die”, from memory that was minutes long, expressing his voice further with hand gestures and repetition.

“It was inspired by the racism I’ve seen, felt, and witnessed,” said Pomeyie. “The poetry summit definitely helped me grow. I could truly be myself in a space full of poetry and light. I found new strategies and ways to help me write. I felt safe sharing my piece in such a welcome environment.”  The performance held the audience’s mesmerized eyes, who could be seen clinging to and nodding on to every word.

 “Listening to other young poets created a sense of uniqueness as it welcomed diverse voices, being able to explore new ideas and contributing to that communal affinity,” said junior Ilektra Kalimiri, who also shared a piece of hers at the open mic event.

“In the room, one of the things I want you to do before you go, is look around, because you’re poets, look at the other poets in this room,” said Djeli to close out the afternoon. “You’re not alone, you’ll never be alone. This is the declaration of interconnectedness,” he roared as he asked everyone in the room to repeat after him, “we are one”.

As students exited the Flynn they waved bye to their new found friendships, yet held on to their inspiration to write.