Spoken Word Poetry Club is held on Fridays at lunch in the drama room. Created two years ago by students Amanda Fields and Quinn Lozar, the club is currently run by president senior Amanda Fields and vice president senior Al Ayala.

Prior to Spoken Word Club, there had been no creative writing club on campus. Fields and Lozar created the club to provide students the opportunity to learn about creative writing. The club is host to a variety of activities. Students can perform poems of their own, share poems written by others and participate in creative writing activities.  

“I love all the people that come in and how close we can get and how we’ll get first timers that will come up and share something really personal,” Fields said. “Everyone’s just really supportive of it; it’s always great to see.”

The club also hosts an open mic night, Ignite the Mic, where students can perform their work. They are hoping to establish a team to compete in slam events, a competition where poets perform original work. They are also working to grow the club as a whole.

“Definitely to grow in people and to grow together and for people to really be comfortable with their own work and their performance and to be confident,” Fields said.

An attendee of the club, Arin Zwonitzer joined Spoken Word club this year. Zwonitzer mentions the importance of a poetry club on campus.

“Poetry is like this perfect little medium where people actually have to focus on their emotions, improve their writing, and focus on something that isn’t grounded in reality, take a break for a second,” Zwonitzer said. “That’s something that so many people in this school lack.”

This club provides students with a  platform for performing, expression and constructive criticism. For those interested the club is held every Friday in the drama room.

“There’s something really powerful in poetry,” Zwonitzer said. “Poems, through words, are able to convey emotions in a way that you just can’t do through an essay. It’s very therapeutic. Being able to hear other people and their perspective is really, really amazing because it’s like a support system. [It] improves your writing and talks about the human condition all in one.”