Standing atop the desks stood the Dead Poets Society members. Junior Ricki Alvarez begins reciting the quotation with the members following along.
“I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately,” projected advisor Michelle Mangan’s board. “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life! To put to rout all that was not life… and not, when I come to die, discover that I had not lived.”
They came to a finish, reciting the quotation from the “Dead Poets Society” movie.
Alvarez helped create the Dead Poets Society club with her friend Hailey Van Alstine. The idea was formulated during a sleepover over Thanksgiving break, and when they came back, they proposed the idea to advisor and English teacher Michelle Mangan.
“I loved [the idea],” Mangan said. “I thought it was great because I agreed with them that [poetry] is a dying genre and that it’s something we need more of in the world.”
With the newly founded club’s idea centered about shifting poetry to a creative and imperfectly-perfect state instead of the formal Shakespearean poetry, it gained students’ attention. This gave Alvarez and Van Alstine the following they needed.
The Dead Poets Society focuses on taking knowledge on school-taught poetry, and throwing it away. This allows members to be as creative as they want, letting their imaginations flow through the power of words and writing.
“We try to push people to go out of their comfort zones a little bit, but not super far,” Alvarez said.
Every other Wednesday when the club runs, it is a safe space for members to write about whatever they choose, following the activity for that meeting. Some choose their positive or negative feelings, some create humorous pieces, and some are there to simply enjoy the positive environment.
“It is so situational based,” club member Monica Teran said. “You can come into this club one day and be down and everything, but this club has brought such a great life to it.”
Alvarez’s mindset for the club has provided a freedom in crafting poetry that English class may not. The opportunity to create diverse pieces are endless.
“I want people to just love art and express themselves in a way that works for them,” Alvarez said.
Literature and poetry may not be for everyone, but it is worth giving a try. Stepping outside of the comfort zone can lead to unique pieces and a sense of belonging, and the Dead Poets Society club is where to start.
