By Tina Fortunato
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – Camden County College’s Dead Poets Society will host a Poetry Reading with Rachel Hadas on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. The reading will take place in the campus’ Civic Hall, where refreshments will start at 6:30 p.m.
Rachel Hadas will visit Camden County College on Nov. 16. Photo provided
Hadas is an author of many volumes of poetry, memoirs and criticism. Her recent books include “The Greek Poets: Homer to the Present” and “The Ache of Appetite”. Her memoir, “Strange Relation: A Memoir of Marriage, Dementia and Poetry”, is expected to be out this spring. In addition to being a recipient of multiple honors and awards, Hadas is a Board of Governors Professor of English at Rutgers University, Newark campus. In the past, she has also taught writing at Princeton and Columbia.
“The Dead Poets Society is an organization created to provide an outlet for literary appreciation and creativity,” says the group’s Facebook page. The group focuses on poetry and all other forms of literature. Their meetings consist of students or members sharing original works of poetry and literature or their favorite pieces.
You can find the Dead Poets Society’s page on Facebook by searching “Dead Poets Society”. The group also has other websites: http://cccdps.weebly.com/, http://www.youtube.com/user/CCCDPS and http://twitter.com/CCCDPS, where you can find more information. They can be contacted by e-mail as well at CCCDPS@gmail.com.
The last event the Dead Poets Society held was Oct. 19. It was an open-mic night where students and members of the community were invited to read their poetry.
“Rachel Hadas will be the first published poet we’ll have this semester,” says Andrea Quinn, the Dead Poets Society vice president. “I think there are a lot of good reasons to come to the event. Rachel Hadas is an extremely talented author, and it’s going to be a great night. Also, I think it’s awesome that the school encourages and supports extracurricular events like this, and the more people engage in them, the more opportunities we’ll have.”
The Dead Poets Society is also planning a poetry contest for December.