Patrick Lee thought reading and rap were worlds apart until three years ago.

The Bermuda College Literary Society opened his eyes to the connection.

Ironically, he only joined to fulfil credit requirements.

“It was a club or sports and I don’t like sports,” he said. “I like reading so it sounded all right but I was really shocked from the first meeting.

“I never thought there was any connection between something like rap and literature but really, someone has to write that rap. They have to sit down and think about the rhythm of the words. The club helped me see that.”

Mr Lee writes rap and is a fan of battle rap, which involves intense verbal sparring matches between artists.

As it turned out, the club was a haven for people who love rap, writing and spoken word poetry; Mr Lee is now its president.

The club only has eight members but open mic nights are a hit with students.

“We found many students were writing but never had anywhere to perform,” he said. “These are people you would have never thought wrote. They write poetry, they write spoken word, they write raps. We did an open mic night and one of the performers there said he always hated English.

“I said, ‘This is English’. I said, ‘You wrote that rap down, you thought of the rhyme scheme’. He said he never thought of it that way. I definitely think it is important for people to see the connection.”

Although a prolific writer, Mr Lee isn’t comfortable sharing his work.

“I write quite a bit, but I’m a bit shy of speaking it out,” he said. “I mostly just write poems every now and then or maybe a couple bars of rap.”

The club has helped make him a bit more outgoing. As president, he’s responsible for making sure that someone of literary note speaks at the college each year. American spoken word artist Gemineye performed last weekend.

“Members of the club [were] responsible for arranging his visit,” said Mr Lee. “To be honest, the hardest thing for me [was] going out and talking to people, asking businesses for their assistance and fundraising. But it has been good for me.”

Mr Lee’s dream is to become a high school English teacher. The choice might surprise anyone who remembers him as a mouthy student.

He believes one of the problems was a lack of Bermudian males in the school system.

“All my teachers were either female or non-Bermudian,” he said. “Kids in high school are looking for someone to look up to. Now my old teachers tell me I am going to get my karma.”

After graduation in May he plans to volunteer in Zambia as a teacher’s aide with the charity African Impact.

“I am really looking forward to it,” he said.