"I've always liked poetry very much, and upon entering AUB, I was surprised when I was told by student affairs that there wasn't a poetry club where I can talk about my poetry and share it with others," declared May Kanounji, the club president and one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the Poetry Club. Last January the Office of Student Affairs accepted a petition by Kanounji; Sara Sayad, the club's vice president; and 15 other members to open an official poetry club at AUB.
 Although not everyone in the Poetry Club writes poetry, members attend the weekly meetings to appreciate and listen to the diverse styles of the writers as well as to enjoy and participate in the poetry discussions that follow every reading. Writers and listeners, both faculty and students alike, have the unique opportunity to exchange various feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This promotion of poetry, dialogue and debate is one of the main goals the club aspires to support and encourage.
 "One of the main things that make the Poetry Club a successful one is that we are a multicultural one," revealed Kanounji. The Poetry Club has taken into consideration the different ethnic and educational backgrounds AUB students share. Writers and readers are not limited to the English language solely. Another objective of the club is to include other languages such as Arabic, French, and even Spanish in its weekly discussions and readings. They are also in the process of publishing a newsletter in different languages.
 "The problem is that AUB students are not encouraged neither to read nor to write or to do anything related to poetry. [To tackle this problem] we started with the first trick, food to attract members," stated member at large Firas Beydoun. Such a trick was employed at the reception held by the Poetry Club on Friday April 6, where food was served to all guests. 
The high turnout of students, between fifty and sixty people at the reception, surprised Kanounji, as was clear in her statement regarding poetry in this day and age. "I thought poetry wasn't the subject of the day any more. I thought people today were more interested in talking about materialistic things. I was surprised to see that there are a lot of people who write poems and have many great talents, especially at AUB. There are a lot of members that don't write, but are interested in poetry in general, and they like to hear about it." Special guests at the reception included a visiting Australian interested in poetry, who happened to be staying in Beirut for a few weeks, and, hearing about the reception, decided to attend it.
The club is also looking to invite different guest speakers to keep the meetings distinctive. Kanounji is planning on inviting Dr Nour Salman in particular, a professor and Arabic poet at the Lebanese University whom Kanounji knows personally and regards as her mentor.
Along with the newsletter the club is planning on publishing on a monthly basis, the Poetry Club will also be publishing a brochure in order to bring student awareness and attention to the club. The club is also interested in publishing work by non-members and writers who would like to remain anonymous. To attract students an organized poetry reading has also been held in collaboration with the Arabic and English societies, and more such readings are planned for the future. By doing so, the club hopes to encourage all students to share their poetry with other members of the AUB community.