By Morgan Barbour
Staff Writer

The Poetry Club is looking for a new faculty sponsor.
Last year, every Wednesday, students from different backgrounds and lifestyles came together in one classroom and spoke their minds in a lyrical way. The room was B-110, the faculty sponsor was Virna Hobbs-Calhoun and the group was Poetry Club.
Poetry Club members have been scrambling for a new sponsor since the beginning of the new school year. The search for a new sponsor has, so far, been no crystal stair, according to former Poetry Club member Damien Moore. He says he has asked a number of English teachers to take on the role, and all have politely declined.
English teacher Karen Melton is one of the several teachers approached by student poets to be the sponsor for the club. But she was unable to oblige.
“I would love to be (the) sponsor, but I need to take some time for myself,” says Melton.
Poetry Club was a place to come for stress relief, but this year it is at risk of extinction. There is currently no sponsor for Poetry Club. No sponsor means no club; therefore Poetry Club members are in desperate need of a volunteer sponsor or sponsors.
Hobbs-Calhoun said that it would be impossible for her to keep sponsoring Poetry Club due to her previous obligations.
“The position as a sponsor for this organization is indeed a volunteer position, and it takes a great deal of time and organization to keep the club in order. In all, it is a huge responsibility,” says Hobbs-Calhoun, “Poetry club is an organization that can be so much more than it is. There are so many competitions that are open and ready for Southfield to take on. We just have to seize the opportunity.”
Moore says he found a family of his own peers at Southfield High in Poetry Club. Moore has been writing poetry since he was in elementary school but has never really had a place to share his gift, up until last year.
Moore said, “Poetry club is a form of free expression. It gives me a sense of community. It builds character and strengthens confidence. It gave me a place to be myself and not be judged. It’s like a family away from home.”
Junior Lamarn Johnson says that Poetry Club was a cool thing for Southfield High to make available to students. “I was looking forward to Poetry Club this year. I looked up to the seniors of last years’s club, and I thought there was going to be a chance for me to be at the top of my game this year, but I guess not.”