May 5, 2022
By Adriana Rodriguez
Editor-in-Chief
Twenty-one student poets from Bloomfield High School, Hackensack High School, Lyndhurst High School, Lyndhurst Middle School and Mount Arlington Public School came together to share their poetry on April 26 at the Second Annual New Jersey Virtual Poetry Slam. Among this group were six student poets from LHS and four from the middle school.
The virtual poetry slam was hosted by Ms. Klein, LHS’ Staff Developer of Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment and Technology, in collaboration with the Drew Writing Project at Drew University, which consists of a group of educators who share a passion for writing.
Klein, who is the assistant chair for the Drew Writing Project’s Community Family Youth Committee, said her inspiration for organizing last year’s virtual poetry slam last year came as a response to the disconnect she felt with students and teachers, which was amplified by the pandemic.
“It’s such a supportive environment. It is a community.”
“I thought, ‘How could we get all these districts together and people together so everybody can get on?’” Klein said. “It went so well last year, and I do think there’s a benefit of having everyone together on Zoom. This is the most magical thing about it,” Klein said.
The virtual poetry slam was hosted by Carolina Aguilar and Madison Echols who are part of LHS’ Writer’s Club, a group of five seniors who meet weekly with Klein to write and share their poetry and prose.
In addition to the student poets who read their work, teachers attended to show their support and senior Sarah Rose Sammarone performed the song “Killing Me Softly with His Song.”
Klein said her favorite part of the event was hearing the students share their poetry.
“You can see the teachers being moved, and it shows that everybody there could be a writer,” Klein said. “It’s such a supportive environment. It is a community.”
Senior Kirsten de Jesus, who is a member of the Writer’s Club, said she enjoyed connecting with New Jersey’s community of student poets through Zoom, though she prefers in-person poetry slams because they feel more authentic.
“The digital format is great since it allows for multiple districts to participate in something that would have been a hassle to organize if it were in person,” de Jesus said. “People would feel more comfortable sharing such personal topics from their rooms.”
De Jesus, who earned an honorable mention award for her poem “Awakening,” said since it is her last year in high school, she felt it was important to participate in the virtual poetry slam.
“Once I graduate high school, the poetry slams are going to be something in my memory that stands out to me. I didn’t want to miss out on this one,” de Jesus said.
After students read their poems, the judging panel–which consisted of LHS English teachers Mr. Belmont and Mrs. Falco as well as Hackensack High School English as a second language teacher Ms. Minna Schmitz–went into a breakout room to deliberate and select the winners.
Falco, who has over a decade of experience judging LHS’ poetry slams, said the performances at the virtual poetry slam were heartfelt.
“It always gives me great joy when students are courageous enough to share their work with an audience,” Falco said.
She said the toughest part about judging a poetry slam is selecting the winners.
“Choosing the placements is always difficult because there is such quality in each piece of writing. All participants are giving us a gift into their innermost thoughts, and we wish we could award everyone for their accomplishments,” Falco said.
At the end of the evening, three LHS students and one former student won awards. For honorable mention, de Jesus, Echols and senior Joseph Morrelli earned honorable mention awards. Bloomfield High School junior Samantha May, who attended LHS last year, took home a third place award for her poem “bruised fruit.”
May said those who are thinking about sharing their writing in an upcoming virtual poetry slam should go for it.
“Those that participate in the poetry slam are so incredibly talented and supportive. If it’s a safe space to express yourself that you’re looking for, the poetry slam is the perfect place,” May said.
She said the best aspect of the virtual poetry slam was how engaged the attendees were when listening to one another’s poetry.
“Not one person looked bored to me as I scanned my computer screen throughout the meeting. Everyone looked so moved and so completely in love with each others’ creativity,” said May.
