By Katia Jenkins Brown
Staff Writer
One Mira Costa student with a love for literature and fun used her talent and passion to form a club for others like her.
Junior Darby Dayton recently founded ‘It’s Lit’ Club to create a place for lovers of literature to discuss their favorite works in a relaxed social setting. The club meets every other week in Mr. Wheeler’s room on Wednesdays at lunch.
“I founded the club because I love eye opening and interesting discussions in class.” Dayton said. “I wanted an extension of this kind of thinking and discussion in an easier, more social setting.”
Dayton explained she was mostly inspired to form the club by her English teachers Mr.Westerberg and Mr.Wheeler. She modeled the club off their class discussions, but the difference between the club and the classroom is that students have the opportunity to choose the content.
“We lean towards short pieces, because no one wants to come to club that assigns homework.” Dayton said. “Even then, I always look for pieces with lots of room for different interpretations of the symbolism and metaphors.”
Before each meeting, Dayton or a club member will suggest a work of literature to the Lit Club’s Facebook group, where everyone can read it and prepare their analysis for the upcoming Wednesday. Everyone has an opportunity to share their thoughts and build bigger discussions from their new perspectives.
“Honestly, this club is probably more for my own indulgence than anyone else’s.” Dayton said. “I’m a huge geek for literary analysis, and I wanted to create a platform to connect with new people through this shared interest.”
It’s Lit Club has covered works such as Shel Silverstein’s “Where the Sidewalk Ends”, Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” and “The Telltale Heart.”, as well as Dayton’s personal favorite “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” by John Keats.
“I’m focused on finding relatable and interesting content for my club members so it’s easy to form a discussion.” Dayton said. “Not only are we having fun, but we’re also practicing literary analysis and reading classic works.”
The social aspects of the club inspired the creative name ‘Lit’ Club, which was based off the phrase ‘Its lit!’, used to describe an exciting situation, but is also short for literature. Dayton stated that the most important part of the club is that students have a place to stay ‘lit’ and talk about lit’.
“The club name just comes from my love of puns.” Dayton said. “I also thought the name merges the academic and social aspects of the club fairly well, and shows how we value passion and fun over strict format or seriousness.”
Dayton and club vice president Shannon O’Brien also understand that this is a great way to prepare for real class discussions, and encourage club members to use this as an opportunity not only to talk, but to listen and learn as well.
“It’s almost like a practice session for the real thing.” club member sophomore Devon Hagstrom said. “You go in and get good at explaining what you think about a passage, and when you get to class, the stress and difficulty of the discussion is just gone.”
Dayton put an announcement in Costa’s daily bulletin about the club, and is currently looking for fresh perspectives to help the group discussions grow and develop. Dayton also stated she plans on expanding the club outside of Costa.
“I want to expand the club to have a community service aspect with book drives, and funding for public libraries.” Dayton said. “Whatever happens, we’ll stay lit.”
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