Niles West will be celebrating World Poetry Day, a day dedicated to connecting humanity through the timeless tradition of written and spoken word, today Wed., March 21, The commonalities that tie into our need to express feeling and delve into life questions reaffirm our want of connection and communication with others.

March 21 was proclaimed the date for this annual celebration by UNESCO in its 30th session in 1999. The day was set in hope to offer those without a voice an opportunity to be heard among their community, and better yet, nationally. Besides this, it also hopes to connect the arts, including theatre, dance, music, and painting, by creating an attractive image of poetry in the media.

A Tribe Called West, Niles West’s own poetry team, plans to celebrate the day by performing in the Black Box Theatre periods 3-8 today (excluding period 4), as well as by bringing in a guest poet during second period. Everyone is welcome to attend the sessions during their free periods.

Sophomore and two-year Tribe member Penelope Alegria began her poetic journey in seventh grade when her English teacher had the class write poems to perform in front of the class. Alegria feels that poetry has particularly helped her pay attention to detail and value the little things in life. Her favorite part of poetry is the opportunity it provides to experience cultures you otherwise may not have the opportunity to.

“It’s important for people to see what poetry can be. A lot of times, we read century-old poems in English, so we rule out poetry because it’s boring and difficult to understand. We forget to see what the poetry written by kids our age, the relatable poetry, can be,” Cruz said. “Having a National/World Poetry Day calls attention to this, and it lets more people experience all it really can be.”

Senior Sandra Nahhas, sister of Tribe Called West alum Stephanie Nahhas, spent her weekends listening to hundreds of poems at her sister’s slam competitions back when she was on the team. She firmly believes that the most powerful aspect of poetry is that it allowing you to step inside the shoes of another person, letting each poem guide you to view a new perspective.

“There is so much diversity in poetry. Poems can be satirical, meaningful, and sometimes revolutionary. I feel like many people don’t understand that poetry isn’t just rhyming around a certain theme. It’s filled with metaphors that take the story further a step,” Nahhas said. “Sometimes, it’s hard for people to put how they feel into words, but I feel like poetry allows people to do that because of all the different directions a poem could go in. Poetry allows you to see things from a different perspective.”

Though only a member of the Tribe for one year, senior Kaitlyn Pedroza is aware of the impact the team has had on her. She will be preforming an original piece during World Poetry Day titled “An Open Letter to Straight People.”

“Poetry has made me more comfortable speaking in front of people, and it has helped me open up more,” Pedroza said. “People should come watch because it’s going to be really fun- we have really good poems this year, both funny and meaningful ones. It’ll be great.”

Make sure to come support the poetry team today in the Black Box Theatre during your free period. Also, make sure to congratulate them on placing third in the semifinals in “Louder Than a Bomb,” the world’s largest poetry competition- it’s a big deal!