By Addy Hawthorne ’27
Choate for Women (C4W), a club promoting understanding and awareness of women’s issues, has provided an invaluable space to engage in thoughtful discourse. In honor of March being Women’s History Month, C4W hosted its second annual Feminist Poetry Reading on March 25. This year, the event was centered on creating healthy discussion around female relationships.
While last year’s poetry night had no specific theme, Vice-President Mikayla DaSilva ’24 explained that C4W decided to introduce themes in order to make each poetry night “more distinct.” She added, “We decided on female friendships because we feel like we’ve highlighted that a lot in our meetings this year.” For many members of C4W, female friendships and mutual support within the community are what they love most about the club.
Librarians at the Andrew Mellon Library were excited to help set up for the reading because this event furthered a common goal they shared with C4W: creating a welcoming space for all. Assistant Librarian Ms. Sam Nelson said that when students “get to show off who they are, the space becomes more inclusive, inviting, and enriching as a result.”
Many Choate students volunteered to share either original poems or one from a favorite author. Among them was Kadija Benzinane ’27, who read “Beauty Standards,” an excerpt from Shahd Allahabi’s book Phases & Their Places. “Because of the community that Choate for Women has created, I felt very comfortable coming and sharing a poem,” she said.
After each poem, readers were invited to share a discussion question with the group. “Beauty Standards” was Camila Granda ’25’s favorite from the night. Benzinane’s pick struck up an interesting discussion regarding the problem of how women of color, specifically ones with curly hair, are negatively affected by beauty standards. “[The poem] got us talking about beauty standards, and it’s cool to talk about with so many girls who have curly hair … to be able to say these are curls, to [be able to] celebrate them and talk about them happily was a highlight for me,” Granda said.
The poetry night was successful in its goal of celebrating and appreciating female relationships. “In a place where there’s so much rivalry and competition all the time, having healthy female friendships is crucial, and Choate for Women is the perfect place to foster and nurture those types of friendships,” Granda said. “Choate for Women and poetry readings are the perfect way to keep getting to know the girls on this campus, even though we might be in completely different social circles.”
