Honors students share poetry

Student poets and their fans gathered in Graham Memorial on Tuesday night for a reading of their favorite parts of their own work.

Eight honors poetry students presented original compositions they wrote as part of a class this year. The students produced 1000 lines of poetry each to earn creative writing honors.

The building's Morehead Lounge hosted about 50 people some sitting on the floor.

Subjects ranging from love to hate and death to life echoed from the wooden walls.

One of senior Katherine Oberembt's poems" ""Proposal"" took the perspective of a defense attorney who represented a mother accused of child negligence. In the poem, she writes about a woman being prosecuted after drain cleaner spilled onto her young daughter's face.

The smooth hum of her voice was a stark contrast to the substance of the stanzas she read.

Aaron Vose read Your Things"" which he described as the closest thing to a love poem (he'd) ever written."" It describes all the belongings left over at his home from a recently ended relationship.

Speaking about his student's generation as a whole" Alan Shapiro the English professor who oversaw the students' work all year" expressed his excitement for their passion for poetry.

""It's like the '60s without the self-indulgence" he said.

Several students said they attended the event to hear friends read their poems.

I've read a lot of work on paper and it was really cool to see them in person said junior Zena Cardman.

It was fantastic" Shapiro said. It was great to have so many people come and support these writers.""

The students said they were very appreciative of the time and effort their classmates put in to developing and discussing their compositions.

""We worked all year for this and it was really fun to be able to share it with someone"" said senior Jon McDonald, who read his poem Winter Flora" among others. The poem describes the memory of a lonely homeless woman.

It was technically a class" but it was basically a group of friends getting together and sharing poems.""

While Travis Smith read his poems" the audience laughed as his humor was excellently conveyed into his works.

This was even evident in the title of one of the poems he read" called ""X-Rays of Snakes"" about memories of a childhood home that was converted into a veterinarian's office.

Other poets spoke on topics as diverse as suicide, a cross-country road trip and the history of the ax.

After the reading, refreshments provided the audience with an opportunity to speak with the poets and their professor.

The work has been extraordinary"" Shapiro said. It's one of the best classes I've ever taught.""



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.