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Crowding to fill all of the available room at the small cafe at Barnes & Noble, supporters of Walpole High’s poets gathered to enjoy one hour of impressive poetry at WHS’s tenth annual poetry reading on November 24.  Augmenting the audience were WHS graduate poets, who showed up in numbers greater than usual to attend this anniversary.

The bulk of the poets were seniors; however, several juniors and sophomores delivered impressive and mature poems. The poems ranged from serious to light, and they covered such topics as politics, love, reflections on high school, and dreams about Batman.  The poetry reading featured a wide-range of poems that kept the audience laughing, thinking, and sometimes even struggling to determine the meaning behind the deeper and more complex lines.

The poetry reading has built up a lofty reputation and a substantial following for itself over its nine-year tradition of successful readings, and this year’s reading certainly lived up to the high expectations.  The turnout has steadily increased over the years, with over one hundred supporters attending this year compared to about fifty at the first reading.

As per usual, the entire coordination of the reading was handled by Mr. Alan, advisor of the Literary Magazine club that puts on the readings.  Alan was the originator of the first reading ten years ago and has been instrumental in every reading since.  In a primarily sports-oriented town, Alan has always found ways to bring different forms of art to the WHS students, and the poetry reading has become another one of his legacies to the school.

Though the traditional spring reading will not be held this year, poets and poetry lovers can expect the fall poetry reading tradition to continue well into the future.