Several students from the English Language Development (ELD) classes at Rosemont presented their original poetry after school on Wed., Dec. 4 in the Rosemont library. The event was filled with excitement and some worry. Many of the poets there were excited to share their poems, but did not like the eyes on them. Tina Demirdjian, local poet and arts educator, ran the event.
“I have been teaching at Rosemont for 20 years, and I am always excited to work with students to find their voice and express themselves,” Demirdjian said.
These students studied poetry with Ms. Demirdjian in Ms. Stein’s classroom for five sessions before performing at the reading. The poems consisted of a few topics, things people liked, people they liked, a sanctuary or place where they felt most comfortable, and just themselves.
One of the pieces, “Lego” by Narek Maloyan, is about the joy one finds in a box of Legos. It starts with “When I open a box I see color. . .” but then quickly goes into a deep dive of the world of Legos. Another poem titled “Shawarma,” by Maribell Baabish, talks about this delectable food. Along with that, a few of the poems commented on sports, one of them talks about the thrills of the basketball court. One then comments on soccer, telling how they feel free and well during a game of soccer.
One of the poems was about someone’s diary and the comfort it makes her feel, and how she can find peace in simple words on a page. One of the more heartwarming poems was about someone’s mom. One of the other poems is about how someone can be taken to a whole different world and calm down by just playing the piano, and her memory of playing piano in an Armenian church at a young age.
While some ELD students have been in the United States for a few years, many people in the ELD program had only just moved into the US during the past 6 months. The students have differing levels of experience with English. To go up onto a stage in a new country and speak a language that you have limited knowledge of definitely requires courage and bravery.
As the poetry event came to a close, students shared how they felt before and after reading their poetry aloud at the event. Many students shared that they felt nervous before reading, but were ultimately happy they did it.
One of the teachers there, Carry Maynes said, “I was very impressed by the variety of the poetry and it took courage to stand in front of peers to recite their poems, I am continuously impressed by Rosemont Students.”
