This month is National Poetry Month, which acknowledges the importance of poetry. Founded in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, it has grown over the years and is now the largest celebration of literature in the world.
“Poetry has always been my favorite literature unit,” freshman Arria Shimizu said.“And even outside of school, I enjoy reading it,”
During April, various organizations celebrate Poetry Month by donating to schools. Some of the donations include writing materials and books to support schools in educating a new generation of poets. Millions of students, teachers, librarians, and poets bring awareness to the celebration by releasing new articles and books on poetry and its importance, according to the Academy of American Poets.
“I am excited to see who will win the poetry contest,” freshman Siena Kane said. “ And I hope they read out the winning poems,”
This Friday, the high school will be holding an annual poetry contest called the ‘Poetry Contestival.’ Every English teacher from each grade level has selected one poem from each of their students, according to Shimizu.
The poems are then presented to a team of judges, who pick a winning poem from each grade. Those winners will be announced at the assembly on Friday morning, and they are encouraged to share their poems with the school. There is also a guest poet who this year is CHS alum Sally Treanor.
“My favorite poets are Ocean Vuong and Elizabeth Acevedo,” Shimizu says, “Sometimes poetry can be a hassle, but I think understanding it is ultimately rewarding”
