On April 29th, the PHS poetry class performed some of their poems after school to a small audience of faculty and students in the Anthony Commons in order to share their artistic voice.

Despite their nervousness, the students of the poetry class still wanted to go up and perform their work, so they could communicate their feelings through art.

“It was very nerve-wracking, going up there in front of all the people and saying my poem.” Poetry class member Adrian Pelszynski said. “The second poem [I performed], ‘Glue Poem’, is really personal to me because it’s about a song that really hits me in the feels. And so, I decided, why not be a little vulnerable and put that poem out there in the world?”

The performance was widely considered to be a success, with many members in the audience both entertained and moved by the work.

“I think they were fantastic.” English teacher Ms. Yeselson said.

And it wasn’t just those who have a background in poetry that enjoyed the performance either.

“Teacher feedback was very positive…obviously those in the [English] department really enjoyed the Poetry, but we had some other people that came from other departments and sent me emails afterwards saying that they really appreciated it and the fact that the school system even offered things like [the performance].” The teacher of the class, Mr. Hamas, said.

The performance allowed each of the students to reflect on their personal growth as artists over the past year.

“It’s nice seeing how far I’ve come…what I used to think was the best thing I could ever write is now what I write on the usual.” Pelszynski said.

The performance party also allowed the students the freedom to control how they wanted their voices to be shared, since the event was organized and structured by the students

“The students made T-shirts, the students made the playbill, the students made everything.” Mr. Hamas said.

Overall, all the students who performed their work for the audience all did so not only to showcase their improvements as poets, but their improvements as people as well.

“At the beginning of the year, the students were not ready…they were shy…to go from the starting point where they were reluctant to even share one of their poems to being able to read one in front of an audience in a public setting shows a lot of growth.” Mr. Hamas said.