French, Spanish and German Clubs Come Together for Poetry

Today’s post is a triple header of sorts. This past Sunday, Nov. 6 was International Poetry Night. It was hosted not by one, but three clubs: the French, Spanish and German clubs. All the language clubs came together to host, provide poems to be read and supply food. 

International Poetry night is usually during International Week. For some reason International Week was held early this year and there wasn’t enough time for the clubs to host the Poetry Night. They had to get enough submissions, put together the Power Point for the poems and their translations, and pull funds together. So it’s understandable the Poetry Night was pushed off. 

Still, I for one was really concerned when this year’s International Week didn’t end with the International Poetry Night as par course. Luckily the clubs still hosted it, just later. I’ve always wanted to go, and since this is my senior year, it was my last chance to go.

I was impressed with the turnout. There was a little over two dozen people there, both students and professors. 

International Poetry Night was a pretty straightforward event. About fifteen students and two professors got up and recite selected poems. It provided students a chance to show off their linguistic skills as they read the poem in its native language, which was French, Spanish or German. Two of the poems were actually sung (they were French, of course). There was a Power Point they had on a screen showing us the poems, both in their original language and translated into English.

Most of the poems were written by professional poets. One French poem dated back six hundred years, while a few German poems read were from the last century. So it was a nice broad range of poems, with topics including love, beauty, sorrow, evil, and humor. There was something for everyone to enjoy, and it’s always fun to hear fellow students beautifully articulate (or completely flub) the language they’re reciting the poem in. 

My personal favorite was a German poem (surprise) called “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Part of the reason I love the poem is because of its ties to Disney. The poem was animated in the Disney classic Fantasia. You know, the scene where Mickey is the sorcery apprentice and he enchants all those brooms and makes a huge watery mess? Yeah, that’s taken straight from “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”. It was recited well and I thought it to be the most entertaining of all the poems read that night. 

So, did anyone get a chance to go to the Poetry Night? Any thoughts about it?