On Friday at 8 p.m., Hillsdale students and professors can share beloved poems in a relaxed version of the nationwide event Poetry Out Loud, hosted in honor of April as National Poetry Month.
Poetry Out Loud is a national recitation competition in which students choose a poem from the program’s anthology of poems to recite for cash prizes. But Hillsdale College’s social media coordinator, Hannah Strickland, along with Assistant Professor of English Kelly Franklin, decided to take the idea in a different direction.
They said they see Friday’s poetry reading as a warm-up, a way to get Hillsdale students participating in the national conversation on poetry.
“Hillsdale College is a good school for creative writing and English,” Strickland said. “I’m trying to raise awareness of that among students and in our social media presence.”
Poetry readings are not a new concept for the college. Hillsdale has a history of hosting informal poetry nights at various off-campus houses.
Strickland reminisced about her experience of Hillsdale’s poetry culture as a student.
“I was a Donnybrooker,” Strickland said. “The evening consisted of poetry readings by everyone there (as long as you’re brave enough to read aloud). Tea and coffee was offered to everyone, and on rare occasions there’s even something like raisin cake, baked by one of the guys of the house.”
The features of Poetry Out Loud are similar to those of Strickland’s undergraduate experience. Attendees can enjoy tea, coffee, and baked goods while they read and listen to poetry.
“At Hillsdale, there’s such a reverence for old, well-written poetry that doesn’t exist anywhere else,” Strickland said. “We are unique, but let’s pour that into the mainstream.”
Hillsdale’s version of Poetry Out Loud will combine the high regard of Yeats, T.S. Eliot, and Hopkins in the close-knit Hillsdale community with the national participation Poetry Out Loud represents.
Both Strickland and Franklin esteem the companionship and community that poetry readings evoke.
“The culture and companionship found in these intimate gatherings is something not found other places. These are some of the evenings I have treasured most in my four years here — the companionship is incomparable,” Strickland said.
“Well, a lot of poetry — perhaps all poetry — is meant to be heard,” Franklin said. “And I think that reading can be really fruitful when done in community. That’s what we’re doing in literature classes. The same thing is true about writing,”
Because of this, the Poetry Out Loud event is on-campus and meant for everyone to enjoy, regardless of previous knowledge of poetry.
“Poetry can point people to things they never thought were beautiful before — that’s something everyone can appreciate,” Franklin said.
Strickland and Franklin said they hope to create a welcome environment that fosters campus-wide appreciation of poetry — one that will encourage the return of this event in years to come, with more students sharing favorites and composing their own.
To further promote the enjoyment of poetry read aloud, videos of Associate Professor of English Justin Jackson, Professor of English John Somerville, and Assistant Professor of English Dwight Lindley reading their favorite poems are also being released on Facebook.
The Poetry Out Loud event is an open invitation to celebrate both the old and the new, highlight a unique aspect of Hillsdale’s culture, and participate in the national appreciation of poetry.
