POLSON — Creativity and fun took center stage on Tuesday, Jan. 31 for the Poetry Café, put on by fourth-graders at Linderman Elementary.

In the dark cafeteria, illuminated only by a lamp at the stage, performers came up and recited a poem to their fellow classmates and parents in attendance, who then snapped their fingers which, loosely, is a poetic device used to let the reader know they did well.

“I liked watching people snap their fingers because they loved my poetry,” student Seth Russell said.

This was the second year that Linderman has put on the Poetry Café, which caps the unit for the students in an exciting way.

“We saw this idea online and decided to make it our own,” teacher Tami Morrison said.

Throughout the three-week unit, the kids learn about different types of poetry, such as haiku, concrete and free verse, among others, as well as poetic devices like alliteration, rhyme and shape, to name a few. During the unit, students also write at least 10 kinds of poetry before choosing a couple to share at the event in front of friends and family.

“They decided if they wanted actions or not or how to change their voices,” Morrison said. “The students seem to enjoy writing alliteration and rhyming poems the best.”

Most kids came up by themselves, though a few readers came up in pairs or groups, as their piece required. Topics ranged from the alphabet to the Big Mac rap to basketball and, of course, many things in between.

“My favorite part of the poetry unit is how students learn that they really do enjoy poetry,” Morrison said. “I also love the Poetry Café and how parents become involved.”

Having parents in the audience was a big deal for both teachers and the students. Many of the performers included family in their readings and enjoyed having them there to listen to what they’ve been working on for so long.

“My favorite part is going up and sharing the poems with my parents,” Bentley Stinger said.

“My favorite part is to make poems and read them to parents,” Gator Cheff added.

Several other students had different reasons why they really enjoyed the Poetry Café, but the one theme that resonated was that they all had a great day. On Tuesday, three weeks of study came to a head with all of the terrific poetry the students read.