This month’s Poetry Café had great performances of original poetry started off by Mrs. Kaplan (Holidays), then student poets Jenasis Concepcion (TearsFall), Dottie Bradshaw (An Unending Pain — Yes We Can ), and Nicholas Troche with two poems (My Bestest Friend and Gun — videos of these are in the next paragraph).  Also performed by one of her students, was a poem by Ms. Fernandez (Why They Can’t Stand Hip Hop).  These poems are in the Arts & Entertainment – Poetry section of this newspaper.  Other students read selections of teen-written poems from books in the library, (Beauty is in the Eyes Of The Beholder, To Have A Key, and Found You).

Our featured poet of this month is Nicholas Troche who is a master wordsmith.  See him for yourself perform these 2 poems – Bestest Friend — Gun.  Nick writes one or two poems a month.  He’s mostly inspired by the people around him and what’s going on in their lives.  His favorite of his own poems is Bestest Friend.  He’s performed at PHS Poetry Cafés and also at a Step Organization event.  When asked how he feels when he writes, Nick said, “I feel like the paper in my book can’t hold all that I’m thinking and feeling and I have to choose certain things to try to get them written down.”