Anna Minsky (1995-1999)
"I think that for me, writing has two basic appeals: introspection and
community. I like poems that are about the words themselves, but I also
partake in the poetic tradition of writing as catharsis. I hope that
through POETS fellow writers will find a community in which they can
explore themselves and the written word and the written world. And I
encourage future POETS to remember that a club is a process. In the first
year of POETS we had about seven members, who were all new friends we had
met, freshmen looking for a niche. I don't think any of them were serious
about writing. By the end of the year two writers had joined the club (Hi
to Diana M and Joseph P!), and we were overjoyed. Throughout my time with
POETS there were periods of faltering enthusiasm and effort, but in the
end I felt that I had built something really wonderful. I hope that Stuy
students will continue the building process and use POETS as a means to
make something that they/you find wonderful."

Beechie Kitzinger (1995-1999)

Jennifer Thorpe (1998-2000)
"I joined POETS in the second term of my freshman year, mostly because I was looking
for a group of people to share my poetry with who would accept my oddball writing
style. Beechie sat behind me in my math class, and told me that POETS could offer
me what I wanted. Four years later, I'm so glad I took her advice. POETS has offered
me everything from a place to be creative and to share my creativity with others, to
a place where I have made some of my best friends ever. I don't know for sure what it
is about POETS that draws such incredibly wonderful people to that little alcove on the
second floor. Maybe it's the openness that exists in every meeting, or the helpful
criticism you can get for any piece of writing. Maybe it's the non-judgmental attitude
of the members that are already there, or maybe it's the thrill of our publication,
Airborne, in which each member is entitled to submit whichever of his or her pieces he
or she loves the most. In a bureaucratic society and school, it's nice to be able to
have a place to go to escape that, and at the same time share the love of poetry with
great people. I was so honored when Anna and Beechie chose me to pass their creation
on to when they graduated. The two years I was president of POETS were thrilling. I
was and still am proud to have been an integral part of POETS. I know that POETS will
continue to fluorish under Tara, Julia, and our new addition to the presidential lineage,
Patrick. Any of you out there who love poetry should make a point to experience this
club, I promise you that you will not regret it. POETS was a force that helped me survive
four grueling years at Stuyvesant, and it will always be a part of who I am."

Julia Brown (1999-2001)
"Hello everybody, my name is Julia Brown, and I'm in my senior year at Stuyvesant.
I got involved with POETS when I was just a lowly freshperson, and have loved it
ever since. Last year I was co-junior president along with Tara, and this year we're
running the show. Unfortunately, I've lived in Manhattan all my life, so nothing
really interesting has ever happened to me (just kidding). I love POETS, both because
I have been writing all my life, and this is a great way to meet others who write and
improve my writing, and because the people who come to POETS are the sort who make
being intelligent fun, which is something I never had in my junior high school. I
have a feeling that if I keep writing this I'm going to make a more egregious error
than that run-on sentence you just had to read through, so I'm going to sign off now.
POETS FOREVER!!!"

Tara Lohr (1999-2001)

Patrick Robbins (2000-2003)

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