Think “Dead Poets Society” but more inclusive. Poetry of the East, or PotE for short, is currently Hunter College’s only poetry club. PotE is an expression club that studies, practices, and takes inspiration from South Asian and Persian Poetry. The club is less than a year old and began as a hobby where like-minded students would go to Central Park and read poetry outdoors.
“When you begin to read and understand literature or poetry that is emotionally moving in that way, you come to find that there are magnitudes and spectrums of human emotion that, until that point, had remained unexplored by you,” said club president sophomore, Aliyeh Khan.
On Monday May 1, PotE hosted their first ever nature walk in Central Park. The plan was simple, to walk from Thomas Hunter Hall to a quiet hill of Central Park such as Great Hill to read and discuss poetry. They intended themselves to be surrounded and inspired by nature, little did they know the day would be full of city obstacles.
2:30 P.M. Check-in was initiated at Thomas Hunter Hall 105. Students got a chance to introduce themselves to members and Gong-cha bubble tea along with poetry books were offered.
3:00 P.M. The group of about 10 students headed out of Thomas Hunter Hall at Lexington Avenue and then headed west down E 69th Street towards Central Park. By Fifth Avenue the group ran into heavy traffic most likely due to the Met Gala just up the street.
3:10 P.M. They reached Central Park. The group searched for a quiet place to read poetry, which posed a challenge. The park was full of tourists at every turn, in addition to the ambient city noises of street traffic and buskers performing.
One student recommended the Bethesda Fountain but that was ruled out because of the ambient noise of tourist crowds.
3:40 P.M. They seemingly found a perfect spot, a grassy knoll just northwest of the Bethesda Terrace but weekend rain had turned the earth muddy which made the ground unstable to sit on. So they walked through the Bethesda Terrace up the stairs to find another spot.
3:45 P.M. They finally found a spot on a hidden lavender thatched terrace behind the historic Naumburg Bandshell stage. Club president Khan laid down a tapestry and had the students sit in a circle and opened the discussion to anyone who volunteered to speak.
“I like that we got to sit in a circle and we got to talk about which poems we really liked…I referred to Langston Hughes’ dream deferred poem and it was really cool..it was nice to walk around and see the nature it was good,” said junior and political science major Melody Garcia.
Khan started off with an icebreaker when she shared some excerpts from books she brought, one being “Poetry and Poets” by Amy Lowell.
After she shared some poems more students opened up and shared poems they found interesting online and some even brought original poems they wrote.
3:55 P.M. The CUNY May Day People’s Protest briefly interrupted the reading as they could be heard demonstrating through the nearby terrace.
4:10 P.M. Most of the students had to leave for class and the event officially ended.
“I felt really calm and it was really great seeing everyone walking around and talking about poetry and I hope it was as relaxing for everyone as it was for me,” said Lemeya Rahman, junior and social media coordinator for PotE.
The remaining students walked back to campus admiring the art and culture of New York’s upper east side. They even admired some public works of art on display from Central Park to Park Avenue. Despite the noise and disruptions, PotE members seemingly stopped to admire the beauty wherever they went.
