Dozens of CEU students gathered in the midst of finals frenzy last month to celebrate the power of poetry and storytelling during Poetry Night. Held on November 28, the event was organized by this year’s Alumni Scholarship Recipients (ASRs), and proved one of the most popular in a number of student events and initiatives this fall.
Even though academic pressures during the end of the term result in longer library hours and sleep deprivation, students and Budapest-based alumni alike embraced the event.
“We were flabbergasted by the number of people who wanted to perform and share poetry from their own cultures,” said Daniel Baranya, an ASR and one of the main organizers. “In fact, we could not fit everyone in the program!”
“We wanted to create as informal and relaxed an event as possible, and with the support of the Alumni and Careers team we also had catering with mulled wine, tea and cakes,” he added. The event was part of “De-Stress Week,” a campaign to help alleviate students’ finals stress.
Poetry Night also saw the opening of an exhibition by a fellow ASR, Kate Levchuk, whose photos “Inspired by Budapest” are a collection of portraits of CEU colleagues in their favorite spots around town. The audience heard poems and short stories from Turkey, USA, Ukraine, Georgia, Pakistan, Finland and Croatia, among others.
Pleased, organizers say they’ll be at it again in the New Year.
“Actually, we do have a waiting list of people who could not fit in the program, we are planning to organize this again in the end of January”, says Annastiina Kallius, another ASR organizer. “We are determined to retain the informal and relaxed atmosphere that encourages people to discuss poetry, and perhaps this passion for poetry will even result in an active poetry society at CEU.”
Daniel Baranya & Annastiina Kallius
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