Poetry Palooza celebrates National Poetry Month with student and teacher readings

Students+and+faculty+clap+and+snap+after+Sophia+Gottfried+%2812%29+reads+her+poem+titled+The+Self+on+April+29.+Poetry+Palooza%2C+which+was+hosted+by+upper+school+English+teacher+and+Los+Gatos+Poet+Laureate+Jennifer+Siraganian%2C+featured+readings+from+both+student+and+faculty+poets.

Michelle Liu

Students and faculty clap and snap after Sophia Gottfried (12) reads her poem titled “The Self” on April 29. Poetry Palooza, which was hosted by upper school English teacher and Los Gatos Poet Laureate Jennifer Siraganian, featured readings from both student and faculty poets.

by Michelle Liu, Winged Post Design Editor

To celebrate National Poetry Month, students and teachers gathered in the Zoom room of upper school English teacher and Los Gatos Poet Laureate, Jennifer Siraganian, for a Poetry Palooza reading last Thursday. Hosted by Siraganian, the event was created in collaboration with Harker Eclectic Literary Magazine (HELM) and Writer’s Advocate. 

Siraganian, Sophia Gottfried (12), Meilin Yen (12) and Sarah Mohammed (10) all shared their poetry aloud for the group. The poets read works ranging from funny, to philosophical, to lyrical. Poems drew inspiration from issues of family, names, nature and everyday revelations. Snaps and claps filled the screen after each poet’s reading, with smiles all around. 

“I thought it was really important for us to come together as a community and invite the poets among us to share their love of the written word,” Siraganian said. “All of these different poems are under the umbrella of poetry and need to be celebrated.”