By Sarah Gallaher | Staff Writer
Most Baylor students read poetry in Carroll Science Hall, but some prefer to absorb its beauty elsewhere. Every month, members of the Dead Poets Society at Baylor gather in secrecy to breathe life into literature from under a bridge.
Based on the 1989 film “Dead Poets Society,” the group meets to read poetry together. In the film, John Keating, a professor at the uptight Welton Academy for boys, inspires his students to absorb poetry in a new way. The students discover that Keating himself was a member of the secret Dead Poets Society, which met at a secluded cave to read poetry together.
In 2021, a California junior and a Colorado junior — kept anonymous to uphold the mystery of the Dead Poets Society — bonded over their similar interests and decided to start their own secret society.
“When we came to campus, all of that love of poetry, that love of that movie was still tied together,” the California junior said. “We just thought to ourselves, ‘What if we started a Dead Poets Society?’”
Armed with a passion for poetry, the students held their first meeting during the second week of school, with six in attendance. After a successful first meeting, they decided to continue meeting and to stay anonymous while doing so.
“The only reason we wanted to kind of keep this anonymous is just because it fits with the spirit of the movie, first of all,” the California junior said. “But also, what poetry is and how it should be taught is something I don’t necessarily want to tie to an institution.”
In the film, Keating explains how learning literature in a school setting distances students from the meaning behind it — a sentiment shared by the members of the Dead Poets Society at Baylor.
“Now, in my class, you will learn to think for yourselves again,” Keating says in the film. “You will learn to savor words and language. No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.”
According to the California junior, analyzing poetry in class can take the meaning out of it, which is part of what makes poetry less appealing to students. As a result, the Dead Poets Society at Baylor is trying to rekindle their love for literature.
“I wouldn’t have ever known the depth of emotion, joy and beauty expressed to me if it weren’t for creating this space where poetry is free,” the California junior said. “With the Dead Poets Society, what we try to do is to keep the human and the poet together as one.”
According to the Colorado junior, the Dead Poets Society at Baylor goes beyond understanding poetry. It encourages creating and sharing original material with the group.
“We really got into a 50/50 mix of existing poetry and originals,” the Colorado junior said. “It was very much a place of expression.”
To the founders of the Dead Poets Society at Baylor, the original poems are the best part, expanding their horizons as they learn more about different aspects of poetry.
“From an artistic perspective, I just appreciated that so much because it was genuinely really good poetry,” the California junior said. “But from a more relational perspective, you really got to know people and what they were writing. I made really good friends in the Dead Poets Society, just purely off of reading poetry whenever we met.”
Over the past two years, the Dead Poets Society at Baylor has expanded, and now, around 20 people gather for the monthly meetings. Although the group and the identities of its members remain a secret, those who desire to seek them out may do so.
“We have people that know where to go and know where to come in all departments,” the Colorado junior said. “I think if you ask around enough, you’ll find someone who knows someone who knows about us. I do think the secrecy is part of the romance.”
Overall, the Dead Poets Society at Baylor aims to uphold the spirit of the film, spreading the love of literature to students and reading poetry under a bridge as an escape from the demands of everyday life.
“I think the beauty of Dead Poets Society and the beauty of poetry in general is that it’s a sigh of relief,” the Colorado junior said. “It’s rest. Poetry, in a world of means, is an end in itself.”
