by Jake Knight.

After creating their poetry portfolios, English teacher Heather Newsam’s creative writing students will host an open mic poetry reading in the library Tuesday, May 15 during first lunch. Students interested in reading their own poetry can sign up in the library and must submit poetry to Newsam in room 2-8 by May 14.

The students in Newsam’s creative writing class were inspired after reading “Bronx Masquerade,” a book about an English class that started its own open mic Friday.

“They are eager to read,” Newsam said. “I’m excited for them to share the poetry they’ve been working on all semester because they have some lovely poetry with beautiful imagery, and their use of poetic devices is very nice. It’s a culmination of some very hard work. Most of this nine weeks they’ve been working on their poetry portfolio. I’m excited to offer them a way to publish and to encourage other poets who might be hiding their poems in a journal.”

The creative writing class will kick off the event by reading their poems first, and then those who signed up will read afterward.

“They were so excited to share that they got out and put up flyers,” Newsam said. “I really hope that we get a lot of people from the general population to come and read, but also to come and support.”