THANKYOU♥

the design on the back of our shirts/hoodies!

So. Yesterday (April 5th) was our first annual Poetry Picnic, and I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped out with our first ever Poetry Picnic yesterday. It was a huge success and it was one of the funnest days I've ever had on campus. And our shirts and hoodies were amazing. Pictures and videos should be up soon, and expect a blog post about the actual event itself possibly over the weekend!

Thanks to Society of Pathology, Lyceum, and IASA for cosponsoring the Picnic, performing, and helping us out! Thanks to the Greek organizations for volunteering their members to help out, coming to the Picnic, and supporting Danielle B in her performance. Thanks to Brandon and the UMD Jazz band for playing such amazing and fabulous music for us to open the Picnic. Thanks to everyone who performed and read poetry! And of course, thanks to all of our friends for attending the picnic and having a great time!

A ton of time and effort went into making the Picnic into what it was, and I can't say thank you enough to the following people for just doing a spectacular job.

To top off the list, we have Erich Beregszaszy, our most esteemed Duke of Scribes. Putting together the Picnic was of course a combined effort, but Erich was totally the genius behind the entire day. The Picnic was based off of the annual picnic held at his high school, and he brought it to UMD for us. Not only that, but Erich came up with all the cool ideas for decorating and giving Kochoff an authentic outdoor feel so we wouldn't have to worry about crazy MI weather. And he did an insanely amazing job! You'll see the pictures soon, but everything was so creatively put together and fabulous and that just made the Picnic a million times more awesome than your average picnic. We had balloon trees, balloon clouds, a photo mural, a trellis in the entry way, floaty fabric to look like sky, and GRASS MATS that looked like actual grass. It was perfect. Erich definitely deserves a very special thank you for all of his work. THANK YOU, ERICH!

Then we have Wafa Algahmi, our very valuable Countess of Expression. Wafa was very prompt and timely about making sure everything getting done on time, and brough up a lot of things we needed to address during the planning stages. She found our picnic basket sellar, and we ordered 30 picnic baskets and stayed within our limited budget. Her biggest contribution to the Picnic, though, was theDeath be not proud video. Remember that? She set up the filming schedule, bought the supplies, organized the actors's schedules, and then put together all of the video footage into a fantastic movie that we finally had a chance to screen at our Picnic yesterday. It'll soon be out on DVD and Blu-ray, and who knows, there may be a musical version in the future. THANK YOU, WAFA!

We also have Myra Khan, our most honored Princess of Rhymes. Since the beginning of the LEP, Myra has been one of our go-to people whenever we needed creative advice, especially when it came to buying things. This time, we needed to buy 20 picnic blankets, and Myra and her lovely mom were able to to pick out the best cloth from JoAnn's for us, including a cute one covvered in watermelon slices. THANK YOU, MYRA!

Sara Milward, LEP "Jester of Gestures" and saxophone player was the one to get us in touch with the Jazz band to play at the Picnic. She also helped out a TON with set up and assembling the garden display in the Kochoff entranceway. Sara was also a star in our video, and we shared a hot glue gun, so she must be fantastic. LOVE YOU, SARA.

Sara Arnold, Miriam Bukhsh, and Jamilah Alhashidi were wonderful at putting up the photo mural (which did NOT want to stick to the wall), making the balloon clouds, and decorating the room with flowers. Sara A.'s height was a huge asset to us! Moe Sadek was great at helping with setup, directing people into the Picnic area, and taking photos of everything. He also wrote a poem that the Society of Pathology read during their performance. Thanks a million, guys! :D

Keysha Wall from Lyceum helped out from 8am to 3pm with EVERYTHING - set up, tear down, running the event, singing, running around, etc. She was amazing help! Kent from Lyceum and Lance Slatton did a fabulous job assembling the trees with help from various people. Byron Cheng is the man with the amazing lungs who blew up 144 green balloons BY HIMSELF for these trees, and Marie Arnaout and Maddie from Delta Phi Epsilon sorority were a great help as well! We also had help from Emma Slonina and Nadia Khalyleh during set up and clean up, and apparently Emma is great at dancing too. We would also like to thank Zina Karana for bringing in her little brother and sister who had a great time at the picnic by participating in our bubble wrap popping challenge, and then popping all the balloons we had. Nice work, everyone!

As you can see, we had  a great team of people working on this in pre-planning and also on the day of, and without this combined effort, the Picnic wouldn't have been as great as it was. 

Amal A.
LEP Queen of Poetry

Poetry Picnic 2012

This contains pretty much all you need to know about Poetry Picnic 2012!

The League of Extraordinary Poets (LEP) is excited to invite you to the first ever UMD Poetry Picnic! 

The Picnic will be held on Thursday April 5th from 11am-3pm in Kochoff Hall.

What is the Poetry Picnic, you ask?

Well, basically it's a huge indoor picnic where you get to eat food, hang out with friends, and watch people participate in a fun competition that doesn't require you to know much about poetry at all. Seriously. 

Teams compete (for prizes!) in a three-round poetry competition. Each team chooses an established poet to serve as their poet mascot, and the teams then choose any of their mascot's poems to perform in any of the rounds - dramatic reading, skit/interpretive dance, and the wild card round. Performances are judged for awesomeness and creativity, and prizes are awarded. 

Did we mention there is a picnic involved? Yay!

Everyone is welcome to attend the picnic! But, if you'd like, you can RSVP and we'll prepare a picnic basket for you and reserve a picnic blanket for you, too!

The handy-dandy "How To Poetry Picnic" guide gives you virtually all the information you need about the Picnic. If you could share this with your friends, colleagues, students, neighbors, etc., that would be terrific!

So. In summary (click on the links):

Event: Thursday April 5th from 11am-3pm in Kochoff Hall

Poetry Picnic Guide

Facebook event page

Team Registration

RSVP and we'll make you a basket

Questions? Email umdlep@gmail.com

Yay!

Amal Algahmi

Queen, League of Extraordinary Poets

Picnic Poetry (no, I didn't write that wrong)

Hey everybody! :D So as I'm sure you ALL already know, the LEP's end-of-the-year bash is coming up: POETRY PICNIC!!!! We plan to make this an annual event, but this is our very first time so we intend to make a major impact on the campus community with all the awesomeness that this event will bring. Counting today, there are 11 days left until we officially "Poetry Picnic"! I thought I'd use this blog post to celebrate poetry related to picnics- after all, who doesn't love picnics? There's something innately fascinating about sitting outside in beautiful weather with people you adore and...stuffing your face. No, really, there is. ^_^

This particular poem actually doesn't have a title but I thought it was great! It's by Carol Gioia. :)

Pack the picnic basket

with all the foods we love,

take along a frisbee,

a baseball, bat and glove.

Bring a blanket to sit upon,

bug spray, and sunscreen, too,

get the kids into the car

with the dog, and me and you

Finally we are on our way

to have a day of fun,

searching for the perfect spot

to frolic in the sun.

A grassy knoll and shade tree

beside a lazy creek;

pull over, this looks just right

for a picnic quite unique.

Setting up a lavish feast,

joy we can't contain,

our happiness is dampened

when it begins to rain.

Good thing that LEP's picnic is indoors! :D No worries of rain or bugs or grass stains or the wind blowing your paper plate away (happens to me ALL the time) to worry about. Instead, we're recreating the fun of a picnic indoors AND with poetry! So be there or be square! Thursday, April 5th from 11 am- 3 pm in Kochoff Hall!

-Myra Khan

Princess of Rhymes, LEP

This past week for the LEP

So this past week has been super duper busy for all of us! And you know what? It's been a great success!



On Monday the 19th, we revisited Seussville!
Back when we were celebrating Octember, we held "A Night in Seussville," where we collaborated with the Student Activities Office and invited kids and their families for a fun night of Dr. Seuss games and activities. We decided to go back to Seussville again, but this time to celebrate March is Reading Month! With our friends and wonderful collaborater on the project, Teri over in the SAO, we had a really awesome event! The night started out with a dinner for the guests (I mean, we're pretty nice people), and then the festivities began. 


Games. Cats. Hats. Photos. Hat making. Book reading. Eating. Laughing. Face painting. Tail pulling. SEUSS.

Then, on Wednesday the 21st, we engaged in cupcake wars! 
Unfortunately, this bake sale date was double booked so there was another bake sale going on in the UC at the exact same time. Luckily for us, our competition was in the form of our friends in the medical fraternity, Phi Delta Epsilon, who also have members in the LEP! So, the cupcake wars were more like those pillow fights you have at sleepovers rather than all out battles. Thanks to everyone who wore crowns and helped out by bringing stuff and/or manning the table. And Sara, I still have your cookie holder thing! You can see pictures from the bake sale, taken by me, the world's 2nd to last best photographer! 




Finally, on Thursday, we had our Paths to Publishing workshop!

This was the third and final installment in our Winter 2012 Poetry Workshop Series. Our guest presenter for the evening was none other than our Empress, Dr. Finlayson! She gave a really great and informative talk about how to break into the publishing arena, both within and outside of poetry. A lot of work is involved, from writing, to making a name for yourself in your local poetry scene, to blogging, to submitting . . . and submitting . . . and submitting. It gave me some ideas on how to establish a writing scene on campus and help poets with true passion get their work noticed. The handout that she gave us should be on CTools soon, so be on the lookout for an email about that! Thanks so much, Dr, Finlayson!


Aaaaaaaaaand, now that all of that's over, we are in FULL POETRY PICNIC MODE! 


Yeah.


- Amal A
LEP Queen of Poetry

Abraham Lincoln: Closet Poet

I've always loved Abraham Lincoln. Like...really. O_O I am so far beyond obsessed that I've decided to name my future son Abraham. Yes. Its gone that far. (Although another LEP member, Miriam Bukhsh, has agreed to bring the awesome top hat for my son to wear. :D) But I think he's AMAZING! He's always ranked as one of the three most influential and popular presidents- and he's on Mt. Rushmore! Getting your face carved into stone? That says it all. :|

But Lincoln's life was full of struggles and disappointments, his father lost all his property in court cases and it eventually led to Lincoln growing up in a one-room log cabin. Due to their unfortunate financial situation, Lincoln's family was constantly moving. His mother died when Lincoln was 9, so his older sister took care of him until his father remarried. However, his older sister then died after giving birth to a stillborn son. :(  Later on, he would face tragedy after tragedy in regards to his own children: Edward Baker Lincoln died of tuberculosis when he was four, William Wallace Lincoln died of typhoid fever when he was twelve, and Thomas Lincoln died of heart failure at the age of 18. Robert Todd Lincoln is the only son to have made it to adulthood and eventually became Secretary of War. He carried the burden of taking care of his mother after his father's assassination, and finally admitted her to a mental hospital when her condition became too terrible to handle.

Despite all of this, Abraham Lincoln led the country through a Civil War, ended slavery, and delivered the Gettysburg Address, which is quoted as one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. BUT did you also know that he wrote poetry? :D Yes he did! Lincoln wrote short pieces whenever he was in a "poetizing mood". He was particularly fond of his childhood home and wrote a really beautiful piece when he went to visit it again years later:

My Childhood Home I See Again
Abraham Lincoln

My childhood's home I see again
And sadden with the view,
And still, as memory crowds my brain
There's pleasure in it too.

O Memory! Thou midway world
'Twixt earth and paradise
Where things decayed and loved ones lost
In dreamy shadows rise

And, freed from all that's earthly vile
Seem hallowed, pure and bright
Like scenes in some enchanted isle
All bathed in liquid light

As dusky mountains please the eye
When twilight chases day
As bugle-tones, that passing by
In distance die away

As leaving some grand waterfall
We, lingering, list its roar
So memory will hallow all
We've known, but  know no more

Near twenty years have passed away

Since here I bid farewell

To woods and fields, and scenes of play,

And playmates loved so well.

Where many were, but few remain

Of old familiar things;

But seeing them, to mind again

The lost and absent brings.

The friends I left that parting day,

How changed, as time has sped!

Young childhood grown, strong manhood gray,

And half of all are dead.

I hear the loved survivors tell

How nought from death could save,

Till every sound appears a knell,

And every spot a grave.

I range the fields with pensive tread,

And pace the hollow rooms,

And feel (companion of the dead)

I'm living in the tombs.

WOW! :D And just when I thought the guy couldn't possibly get any more amazing! Who else is going to see BOTH of the Abraham Lincoln movies coming out this year after reading this? ;) I AM!

The LEP hearts you, Mr. Lincoln. :)

-Myra Khan
Princess of Rhymes

P.S. Some fun random facts: -Abraham Lincoln stood at 6'4" (our country's tallest president!) and and wore a stove-pipe hat (that he used to store letters and important documents in) that was about another twelve inches.
- Lincoln has no living heirs.
-Lincoln wrote his own speeches
-He loved gadgets! He is the only president to ever hold a patent. He issued one for "a device for buoying vessels over shoals"
-He's super cool.

P.P.S. Sorry for the weird formatting guys! I tried for a billion hours to change it, it insists on staying weird for some reason :/

Robert Frost Obviously Went to College

Last night I went to bed at 5 a.m. Then I woke up at 8 a.m., went to school, had an exam, a major paper due, a handful of assignments, and an event. Now I sit here at the computer, having reached the "other side" and am looking longingly at my bed. And I will go to sleep. But before that I thought I'd do a quick blog post. Because who doesn't love a blog post?

The last entry for the LEP was upbeat, chipper, and sprinkled with rainbow dust and butterflies. While this one isn't depressing (well, maybe it is) it definitely reflects my exhaustion. Sorry guys!

Robert Frost is one of my all-time favorite poets, and as unoriginal as this may sound, I think his very best work  is "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening". I think the rhyming scheme is PERFECT and he paints the most wonderful picture in just a few lines. But the real reason this poem stood out to me today of all days, is because I am exhausted. And the last two lines of the poem ring true.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

By Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

    After reading that last line, I thought to myself, "He's SO right. I bet Robert Frost totally knew what it was like to be a college student." I assumed he'd gone to college (I didn't know very much about his personal life) and it turned out, I was right. Robert Frost attended Dartmouth for two months and then left to go work various jobs (why?!) and then he attended Harvard for two years before leaving (again, WHY?!). But more so than academic stress, he experienced emotional exhaustion. His father died when he was 11 (leaving his family with a grand total of eight dollars...and I know this was 1885 but STILL), his mother died of cancer, his younger sister was committed to a mental hospital (where she died) as was his daughter. One of his sons died of cholera while the other committed suicide, his other daughter died of some type of fever, and his wife died of breast cancer. Oh, and Robert Frost himself suffered from depression.

But WHO WOULDN'T?! 

So this entry is dedicated to Mr. Frost, for being so innately brilliant and charming the rest of the world with his works. How anyone deals with so much grief in their lives, I'll never know. (Maybe they write poetry?) 

RIP Robert Frost, you've kept your promises and earned your sleep. :) 

-Myra Khan

Princess of Rhymes

Blue-eyed Stranger

While every eye color is amazing, my personal favorite is blue. I don't know if it's because I myself have brown eyes, or because my entire family does, or because I'm so sick of "plain old brown" that I'm instantly drawn to something else, but blue has always stood out for me. Green is beautiful too, but I've found the vast majority of "green" to be a watered down, dilute green that nearly borders on gray. That's the case for blue a lot of the time too, BUT every so often...rarely...you stumble across someone who has such amazingly blue eyes that you can't look away. You're caught staring at them, feeling like an idiot but just unable to tear your gaze away from eyes that put sapphires to shame. In honor of the latest pair of blue eyes I've spotted, I've decided to post a poem here about them. :) This poem is written by Mandi Ducroq and is titled 'Blue-eyed Stranger'.

Blue-eyed Stranger Mandi Ducroq We don't know each other at all We may as well be on opposite sides of a wall But I've noticed you and I know you've seen me I see your sadness and I can't let it be A smile that could light up a stormy night If you let it show, a personality so bright Eyes as blue as a summer sky So insecure, you seem so shy Don't be scared, I just want to know What makes you so sad, that you don't want to show I don't think you even realise The pain I see reflected in beautiful blue eyes Just let it out, talk to me A soul in distress, I can't let it be I want to be a friend, perhaps a little more I'm giving you the key, be brave, open the door  The poem captures exactly what I'm thinking! ;) I love it!  -Myra  Princess of Rhymes