Story by Gavin Bartolome
Staff Writer
Photo by Madeline Madrigal
Staff Photographer
The Teen Poetry Exchange program held its fifth meeting from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11 in the South Pasadena Public Library. The program, established by SPHS junior Ethan Kwak, hosts meetings for teens aged 12-17 who are passionate about learning, analyzing, and writing poetry. At each gathering, teens share their perspectives and explore poetry through analyses of form, language, and voice.
Kwak’s passion for creative writing led him to propose a teen poetry program to the city mayor in June 2024. Kwak, who leads the SPHS Literary Magazine, Voice Box, planned a program for all interested local teens to discuss poetry. After ironing out the details of the program with Children’s Librarian Bre Taylor and Head Librarian Maida Wong, the event was approved in November 2024.
SPHS senior and poetry exchange participant Michael Lee developed a constructive mindset through poetry analysis during workshops.
“You can convey a thought so much more easily without the prerequisite of skill. Take illustration, for example; you can master perspective, line work, and whatever before you’re even able to start expressing thoughts on paper,” Lee said.
During the meeting, eight participants gathered to engage in discussions and readings. Together, they analyzed a group of poems prepared by Kwak and shared their interpretations openly.
“I come here for fun and I’m not really thinking about … the purpose. I’m just reading [and] consuming … I think it’s about having fun,” Lee said.
After handing out the poetry reader, the group dove in with “Park Bench” by Jack Jung. The conversation began with the discussion of an empty park bench, which is revisited throughout the poem. Kwak then opened up the conversation for other members, guiding the conversation as participants shared their ideas to understand the thoughts conveyed by the poem. The discussion was followed by a 10-minute free write in which participants recorded any memorable lines from thefor poems.
The group then read the final poem of the day — “history, juice, salami” by Milena Marković, translated by Steven and Maja Teref — before sharing their perspectives one last time. Participants contributed to the interpretation that one must not pity those who have passed on and instead pity what is left behind.
“There are times where [other participants] will realize something that I just genuinely missed. And there are other times where I’m very insistent on my interpretation,” Lee said.
As the meeting concluded, Kwak announced that the Teen Poetry Exchange program would welcome South Pasadena Poet Laureate Ron Koertge to the final meeting of the program on Tuesday, April 22, just in time for National Poetry Month. The group hopes to continue expanding in number through greater publicity. With more participants, the group believes that discussions will include more diverse perspectives.
“I’d honestly like to see it expand in size. We have more people now than we did in the beginning, but if there could be more participation from the high school or middle school, that’d be more interesting,” Lee said.