Poetry is alive and well for the final event in the 2018-2019 performance series, At the Parish House, at Emmanuel Church, Middleburg, on Sunday, May 12, at 3:00 p.m. Come be inspired by student poets from local schools reading their original works.

The popular 1989 movie Dead Poets Society helped liberate the classic poems we read in school from the boring, elitist analysis. The passion of Robin Williams in the role of an innovative English teacher has inspired generations of students to find the joys of deep feeling in what they read and, increasingly, in what they write with daring originality rather than in pale imitation of traditional models. Poets no longer have to be dead to be seriously admired by modern readers. Indeed, contemporary poets had better be as alive as these times are!

Today many students astonish and delight their teachers and friends with original poems that are honest, funny, venturesome, and emotionally resonant. Their voices are fresh and prescient, full of insights and hopes that open many paths to a brighter future for our communities and our planet.

This event will feature a one-hour reading by a group of invited students, each student reading about 5 minutes in a small, informal setting, not a competition but an opportunity for all to enjoy the talent of local teenagers in a supportive atmosphere. All participants have been encouraged to invite friends and family to come and be the great audience that great poetry needs. The reading will be followed by a half-hour group discussion of the creative process and the future of poetry. Refreshments will be served.

The reading will be moderated by Perry Epes, an English and writing teacher for many years at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA. He coordinated the Young Poets Competition in DC for the Word Works, publisher of his book of poems, Nothing Happened.

The Living Poets Society reading is Sunday, May 12 at 3 p.m. at Emmanuel Episcopal Church's Parish House, 105 East Washington St. in Middleburg. At the Parish House events are for all ages and are family-friendly fare. Reservations are recommended but not required (540-687-6297).