English majors’ semi-annual Read-a-Thon brings all-day Whitman to the Compass

Samantha Foster
Assistant Spectrum Editor

From 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. this past Tuesday, the VCU Alpha Rho Chapter of the International English Honors Society hosted their semi-annual all-day Read-a-Thon, using Walt Whitman’s poetry as their topic throughout the day.

“As English majors, we want to do something that has to do with English and literature,” said Belvia Fisher, senior English education major and member of the chapter. “A lot of people in our group have also done theater, so it’s fun for them to quasi-perform something.”

The Read-a-Thon consisted of Walt Whitman’s most well-known poems, including “Song of Myself,” “I Sing the Body Electric” and “O Captain! My Captain” as well as any other Whitman poem requested.

“We had a poll (on what to read aloud). I’m glad we’re doing poetry because that’s easier to read in a short amount of time,” Fisher said. “We tried to choose something that is long enough to read all day, but will still be entertaining.”

Also considered for the Read-a-Thon was The Canterbury Tales, said International English Honors Society chapter president and senior English major Michelle Palmer.

“Dr. Harrison (chapter advisor) suggested (Walt Whitman) … but I wanted to do (The Canterbury Tales) in old English,” said Palmer.

Throughout the day, Whitman’s poetry was recited loudly by different chapter members and passersby who asked if they could also read a poem. Graduate student Brandon Basile joined the reading for an almost musical rendition of “O Captain! My Captain!” which grabbed the attention of the Compass.

“I have class with (one of the members of the chapter), so I decided to stop and see what was going on. I’ve been doing poetry since high school and actually came out here to play my guitar and sing,” Basile said.

The Read-a-Thon acts as the Alpha Rho Chapter’s only current fundraiser. Chapter members asked family and friends to pledge them money for the number of pages they would read.

“We’re trying to raise money for events, flyers, and if someone wanted to join but is low-income, we could help them. I would love to raise money for charity (in the future),” Palmer said.

Last semester’s fundraiser was miserable and snowy, Fisher said. The plan had been to have a donation jar by the reader, but legal issues did not permit this since a police officer must be present for there to be a donation jar, said Palmer.

“We read from Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and everyone thought it was the Bible,” Fisher said.

The chapter also brought along signs last semester to advertise why they were there and what they were doing. This semester, they did not bring signs, but simply stood on the brick walls around the Compass and recited the poetry louder.

“We wanted to do things for English major dorks,” Palmer said. “They want to learn to publish. They want to read Whitman. This is basically a place for literary nerds.”