On Nov. 21., Kaleidoscope hosted SIS’s first literary café in the library. Although the setting was
intimate with a small group, students were able to share their original writing and read aloud
pieces of literature to their liking. With each student’s personally unique performance, the café
created an atmosphere of diverse literary styles and interactions among students and teachers.
The convergence of the informal performances and the quiet comfort of the library presented a
casual social atmosphere suitable for participants.
“I feel like the literary cafe is a good experience for students who like to work with the creative
process,” said Megan Lee, English teacher. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a creative outlet like a
creative writing class currently at this school. So, this is an opportunity for students to reflect
what they enjoy doing in their spare time. This also opens up for more creative conversation and
dialogue.”
One of the highlights of the literary cafe included the introduction speech by Shawn Yoon (11), a
student taking Writing 11. With his personal interests of music, he was able to create a piece of
writing that was dedicated specifically towards this hobby. Jiwon Lee (11), another Writing 11
student, also read her work on karma through its similarities with a snowball.
“There were seemingly many different styles of performances that were encouraged within the
literary cafe,” said Erin Choi (10), partial attendee of the literary cafe. “Although I was not able
to see the performances themselves, I had waited for the event in the library and saw the
participants of the literary cafe briefly before the event started. Although it was very intimate, I
felt like this atmosphere was very supportive, engaging, and positive.”
Nathan Bae (11) concluded the student portion of the cafe with a humorous personal narrative
about his name and the impact his English name has had on his life. The audience was fully
engaged throughout the performance because of the hint of humor included within the
performance. Finally, Jared Rock, English teacher and host of the literary café, concluded the
event with a recitation of Emily Dickinson’s work, which cohesively ended the café.
“There was no equivalent activity to a literary cafe in this school, so I figured that I could try it
and see if there was enough interest from the students to get it started here,” said Jared Rock,
English teacher and host of the literary cafe. “It is a nice way to provide a sense of acknowledgement for the students who work on their writing. And it could be a place where
creative writers are given the chance to share their work with a live audience and get immediate
feedback. Ultimately starting from there, it could be a new way for students to express their form
of creative writing in any form. ”