Saint Ann’s high school poets have taken a page from the past and updated it. In 1968, John Giorno invented Dial-a-Poem, a system through which a caller could listen to a poem. In 2017, Laura Barnett, in collaboration with Cathy Fuerst, Eric Zimmerman, and a dozen high school students, devised a theatrical production called The Fourteenth Floor which featured, in one of its many rooms, an iteration of Dial-a-Poem.
Now we are bringing Dial-a-Poem back to life. As a respite from Zoom fatigue, we invite you to rest your eyes (or close them) and just listen. By dialing extension 333 from the Saint Ann’s School telephone tree (718-522-1660), you will hear a poem read by a high school student (or students), often (but not always) a work of their own. The experience will take less than three minutes, but it will make your day a lot brighter. A new poem will be available each week.