A worthwhile poetry session

Late on Friday night, Dec. 3, at Mayorga Coffee Factory, a small crowd of supporters gathers around a dimly lit table of young poets from Blair's literary magazine, Silver Quill, to sip coffee and read poetry.

Mayorga itself is roomy and comfortable for the cluster of all-female poets from Silver Quill. The rest of Mayorga is buzzing with a congregation of Silver Sprung denizens out for dinner and coffee. When ready, each poet walks up to the stage, which consists of a microphone and some boxy audio equipment, and dishes out her poetry.

When they return to their cushy seats, the poet's dedicated peers from Silver Quill ecstatically cheer and applaud for their presentation while the next poet bravely walks up to the mike in front of the vast audience; an audience that is very receptive, says Silver Quill Editor-in-Chief Wilma Bainbridge. "They are very nice, and they give us a lot of money," laughs Bainbridge. Although they have a large audience, most are not from Blair.

Silver Quill presents a wide variety of exceptional poetry, including some creative writing. Senior Koyel Bhattacharyya's short story In the Wings vividly narrates a conductor's powerful musical performance and an eager fan's attempt to meet him. Every aspect of the conductor and his actions are detailed with sharp vocabulary and concise syntax; each physical action has its own sentence, spilling with lucid imagery.

As riveting as Bhattacharyya's short story and the rest of the content from the poetry slam, the performance lacks the vigor and vivacity that is in their poetry. The poets speak line after line with no inflection or enunciation. Their energy stays the same neutral level throughout the entire reading. If Silver Quill advertised that they would be holding a poetry slam, some slamming should have been going on, not just reading.

Still, the poets deserve credit for their crafty and brilliant poetry. Silver Quill's group of dedicated and bright poets already plan to host another event. "We're definitely thinking about another one," said Silver Quill sponsor Valerie Josenhans. Slam or no slam, this poetry presentation is a worthwhile attraction for any lover of poetry.