The world of contemporary poetry can be extremely polarised, most obviously between the so-called page poets, who are often academically trained in creative writing programmes, and the so-called stage poets, who are performers as well as poets and, even if they were so inclined, would be hard pressed to find a college or university where they might receive instruction in their chosen art form. This essay investigates how this division is made manifest in the poetry community and how the students of a tremendously diverse, urban community college experience it and are affected by it.