They don't have regular meetings, they don't have a set membership or adviser, and they gather only when the spirit moves them.
The Duke Poets Society is not your typical student organization.
Founded last spring, the society is a completely student-run organization aimed at promoting poetic expression on campus. Members gather about once every three weeks to recite their own poetry or other poets' work at open-mic nights in local coffee houses.
Unlike many other student groups, the Duke Poets Society membership is open and informal.
"We want people to join in whenever they feel like it," said junior Erin Blevins, the group's president. "They may come to our readings to read or to just listen to others." Blevins added that the group's relaxed attitude is designed to attract more students not only to attend and listen to readings, but also to partake in them.
Since the beginning of the semester, the group has held its first two poetry readings at The Coffeehouse on East Campus.
"I was amazed and thrilled at the amount of people that showed up," Blevins said. "I am hoping that as the semester unfolds... more people will be comfortable in sharing their own works with others."
Another member, sophomore Dan Avissar, stressed the need for a campus outlet for performing literary pieces. "Poetry is meant to be performed," he said. "It's amazing that through the artistic use of the English language, emotions can be channeled and communicated."
Avissar, who has written poetry about his personal experiences and identity, said the interactive and creative nature of the forum attracted him the most.
The creative and expressive component of the organization also attracted junior Keishann Lee.
"I got into poetry around my junior year in high school," she said. "My love of words is what started me on the poetry track. I like being a part of Duke Poets Society so that I can see the range of creativity that we have at Duke."
Lee is also a member of the Blue Roach, another campus student poetry group, which caters mainly to slam poetry, or poetry set in stylistic rhythmic patterns. She agreed that Duke needs more creative outlets for students in search of artistic means of self-expression.
"When I am home in New York, I attend many open-mic and spoken-word nights at coffee places," she said. "I think a lot of students are looking for something like that to attend here at Duke and that was evident with the amount of people who attended DPS's first poetry reading."
Blevins added that interest in creative expression and performance is not just for arts or literature students. "We have all kinds of interests among our members," said the biology major. "Some of our members want to be poets, but mostly people just have an interest in poetry or are interested in partaking in something new and creative."
Avissar said the diversity among students' interests makes the mix of students even more compelling. "It is great to see where everyone is coming from," he said. "With poetry, people can convey their social and cultural background along with their personal thoughts and feelings."
Lee said the interactive component has helped her develop her own poetic style. "I am often inspired by other peoples' lives," she said. "Initially, I would write a lot about relationships and love. My writing has become more varied throughout the past couple of years. Now, I write a lot about other people, family and life situations, such as tragedies."
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