"Poets at the Party" kicks off the Festival of the Creative Arts

By Kaylee Morrow

Florida State University welcomes another year of the Festival of the Creative Arts to campus. Faculty members and students in the Department of English have been preparing to make this year’s opening performance engaging for all.

The festival’s first event, on Friday, Feb. 6, is “Poets at the Party,” which gives five English department graduate students and one undergraduate student the opportunity to combine poetry with dance and musical elements.

Distinguished University Scholar of English Barbara Hamby has worked closely for the past three years with Iain Quinn, the festival’s director, to stage this annual collaboration. When Quinn asked Hamby what this year’s theme should be, she immediately thought, “party poems.”

“There's a long history of party poems, from the ancient Greeks to the present day—'eat, drink, and be merry,’ ‘carpe diem,’” Hamby explains. “I love to write party poems myself, so I think Iain was swayed by my enthusiasm.”

Students and faculty members from FSU’s Dedman School of Hospitality helped bring the theme to life. Their ideas were passed on to the English poetry students, allowing them to interpret and communicate the messages in their own ways.

The writers will present their works, accompanied by performances from students in FSU’s School of Dance and College of Music, where Quinn is professor of organ and coordinator of sacred music.

“We let the images and inspiration become part of the mystery of art and what makes collaboration an exhilarating experience,” Hamby says. “To have your words inspire a piece of music and then a dance is truly beautiful. Last year's audience was so enthusiastic. Everyone left the theater high as a kite on art.”

Rachel Hunter, specialized faculty and production manager for the School of Dance, has coordinated the dance performances for these annual events, including this year.

“She makes the final program the thrilling experience that it is,” Hamby says. “I am in awe of her artistry but also her ‘border collie abilities.’ She is also a talented actress.”

English doctoral students Caroline Laganas and Hugh Wilhelm are among the group of presenters for “Poets of the Party.” The performance’s musical and dance components will give a new depth to the poetic elements.

“The interdisciplinarity that this event celebrates is deeply inspiring,” Laganas says. “I think the rich combination of poetry, music, and dance will foster a more dynamic, constellation-like experience of all our art forms.”

Laganas notes that the experience of a party may be different for everyone, making the entire performance feel unique and personal.

“The performance element bolsters the message of my poem, which is to celebrate the fact that we are alive,” she says. “My poem ends with the image of dancing to music, so I'm thrilled for that experience to transcend the page and come alive on stage.”

Viewers will enjoy the visual portrayals and feel the music that coincides with each poem.

“My poem takes the form of a letter written to the earth,” Wilhelm says. “In the letter, the speaker questions the earth as if it might respond while also sorting through things. The performance element will most likely emphasize a yearning for connection and understanding, for communication and enchantment.

“I’m hoping that my poem and the performance will cause people to feel a sense of wonder and gratitude regarding the world that surrounds them.”

My poem takes the form of a letter written to the earth. In the letter, the speaker questions the earth as if it might respond while also sorting through things.

— English doctoral student                                         Hugh Wilhelm

English doctoral students Natalie Eleanor Patterson and Christell Victoria Roach and master’s student Sophia Upshaw are also reading their poems. Camille Pepper, an English undergraduate student double majoring in Literature, Media, and Culture and in dance, will be part of the dance ensembles.

Hamby says the performances each year have been electrifying in ways that she finds difficult to explain.

“I can't emphasize how incandescent the performances have been,” she says. “After the first year, a Ph.D. student said to me, ‘This is one of the best things that has happened to me at FSU.’ The next year, another Ph.D. student said, ‘This is the best thing that has ever happened to me.’”

Laganas looks forward to seeing the hard work to capture this year's theme of "party” play out on stage.

“We've all attended parties where we wished we stayed home instead. We've also been to parties that we never wanted to end,” she says. “I think the performances will explore all of those emotions to create a dynamic experience for our audience.”

“Poets at the Party” will take place Friday, Feb. 6, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre in Montgomery Hall on FSU's campus. The Festival of the Creative Arts continues through March 1.

Kaylee Morrow is a senior at Florida State University, majoring in English-Editing, Writing, and Media, with a minor in marketing.

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