An Open Mic on April 18 became a forum for nearly 40 student poets from AFS and Lower Moreland High School to share with peers their heartfelt feelings about questions of identity that are coursing through their teen-age lives.
With honesty and courage, they rose from their seats one by one to express their questions, hopes and fears in front of an audience that snapped and clapped for them and called out their first names in a supportive chorus.
The Open Mic, held at Lower Moreland High School, was the first of its kind between the two schools, and was arranged by English Department Chairs Mary Lynn Ellis and Dr. Kimberly McGlonn, respectively of AFS and Lower Moreland. Dr. McGlonn is also the faculty sponsor of the Diversity Council at Lower Moreland. Toni Graves Williamson, Assistant Head of School for Equity and Inclusion at AFS, attended the program, too, in support of the initiative.
In reciting original poems as well as poems by published poets, the students explored a variety of themes, among them white privilege, the murder of young black men, reactions on Election Night, questions about God, girls who are afraid to be seen as smart, foreign accents that are a “stubborn compass always pointing … toward home,” and how a darker skin tone could affect a black woman’s opportunities for love.
Most of the 23 AFS students who attended were seniors enrolled in Mary Lynn’s Poetry Elective. The students recited from memory or read from their cellphones, journals and papers. Several announced that they were nervous about what they were about to do. Student emcees Jared Smith and Nicole Jurado, respectively from AFS and Lower Moreland, did an excellent job of easing the jitters with their banter and compliments for the performers.
The idea for an open mic involving the two schools began with a chance meeting last fall at Open Book, an Elkins Park independent bookstore, after School Committee Clerk Margaret Sayers introduced the two English teachers to each other. From there, the teachers met once a month to plan the night. Margaret was among those at the forum Tuesday night, where her son, Kenan, shared an original poem.
After the eclectic mix of spoken word, traditional lyric poetry, narrative poetry and prose poems, the students from the two schools gathered in small groups to talk about what they had shared and heard, and to respond to open-ended questions, including “I will always be” and “In the future, I might be seen as…”
Then, a final poem was created on the spot as each participant was asked to say aloud a single line that related to one of those questions. Dr. McGlonn’s daughter, Hana Nelson, 8, put an exclamation point on the night with her response: “In the future, I will become a better poet.”
Post Script: Asked the next day whether another open mic involving the two schools will be held next year, Mary Lynn said, “Absolutely!” And next year, AFS will serve as the host.
