I'm a poet, and I didn't even know it

I hate poetry a lot. I can’t sit through Dickenson or Whitman in school, and when I heard we were going to a poetry jam at the Kennedy Center, I thought I would get a long nap. When it started, I was surprised to find that I like poetry. They wrote about global warming, but a lot of the poets also brought up their family struggles or ethnic issues in their neighborhoods. They were young activists, not stuffy old poets. I learned about how this problem affects every part of our lives, from diseases to socioeconomic problems in our community. It was so incredible to see this kind of passion in kids our age, and I’m sure that all of us at Summer JAM left inspired.

- Sam S, JAM '08
East Brunswick, NJ