Poetry pops out of the pocket

While many Columbians sat with pocketfuls of sunshine on Low Steps, their literary-minded peers had poems in their pockets.

In celebration of the National Poetry Month, Columbia’s Office of Government and Community Affairs hosted Poem in Your Pocket Day. Taking place at the sundial from 4-6 p.m., Columbia students and members of the community were invited to share their favorite poems and hear poetry recited. Anyone who read received a 15 percent discount at the Columbia Bookstore.

Although this is the 8th annual Poem in Your Pocket Day for New York City, this year is the first time that Columbia has officially participated. Other poetry-inspired events also took place throughout the city for the National Poetry Month. In previous years, Mayor Bloomberg has joined in by reading a poem on the radio.

Marcia Lynn Sells, Lamar Lovelace, and Orit Yakuel—staff members of the Office of Government and Community Affairs—coordinated the event. The office received a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts, which has funded events such as the Big Read, which brought 10,000 people to Columbia. “The President saw the arts as an opportunity to reach out to the community at large,” assistant vice president Sells said.

“We help promote a lot of cool stuff going on in the community,” Yakuel, the senior project coordinator, said. “We don’t see our office as just Columbia-focused, but the entire neighborhood.”

Dan Aprahamian, CC ’12, kicked off the event by reading the first poem. He read the lines of the character Lucio in the play “Measure for Measure” which is taking place on campus this weekend. Yakuel read a Shel Silverstein poem and Sells read poetry by Columbia alumnus Langston Hughes. Adrian Calderon, CC ’12, also joined in as one of the (roughly) 15 people who read by reciting an Italian poem.

Around half the readers were members of Columbia University, while the rest were passing members of the community. Highlights included a poem was sung in German and a 15 minute Walt Whitman poem. Some students also showcased their original poetry, fostering a moment of heightened literary awareness as an ode to the end of the National Poetry Month on April 30.