La Voz

Monday, October 30, 2006

A birthday was celebrated on October 26 in the Writing and Reading Center. No tradition was left out; the party, the song, even a big chocolate cake. But the birthday girl never showed she's been dead for over forty years.

Sylvia Plath was immortalized through her groundbreaking poetry and is still a powerful inspiration for people to this day. The WRC hosted the "birthday party" organized by Bob Dickerson as a way for fans of Plath's to celebrate her poetry by reading selected poems of hers and original poems inspired by her.

The event went "absolutely fabulously," Dickerson said, who is known affectionately as "Johnny Depp" to the De Anza College Language Arts Department. This moniker created some confusion amongst those not in the know, as flyers for the event mentioned that Johnny Depp would be in attendance.

Despite some people's confusion, the event was heavily attended by students and faculty alike. First, there were the poetry readings, done in an open-mic style.

Finally, a giant chocolate on chocolate cake was brought forth, candles lit, and the birthday song was sung by all. There was some confusion about who would actually blow out the deceased woman's candles, but eventually cake was served and more poems were read.

Students like Steve Swensen were very happy the event took place. "I think it's important to do something like this because it helps erase some of the apprehension about poetry," he said. "It's not just for English majors, or artsy types." When asked about the range of readings presented, Dickerson was quite happy.

He noted that people read poems Plath wrote during the "juvenilia" of her writing career, through the middle, and even a couple, including "Lady Lazarus," written within two months of her suicide at age thirty.

For the people that stood and spoke, this "poetry party" gave them a chance to celebrate a writer that has deeply affected their own writing. "She's such a unique writer because of the way she uses words and sensory details," said Amy Barnes, a student in attendance.

Dickerson said he's unsure when the next poetry party will take place, but he dropped the hint that Langston Hughes has a birthday coming up in February.

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