As a scientist I don’t often find myself reading poetry, but I will say that there
are upsides and downsides to poetry. Homer, for example, contributes significantly to Western literature.

However, poetry is one of those subjects that can have a lot of snobbery associated with it. And by snobbery, I mean condescending people who believe their interpretation is more correct than any other.

One of the most meaningful contributions literature gives to any society is its ability to encourage society to think and imagine.

Matthew Balsinger
Sports Editor

Being an English major, I’ve read a lot of different poems and other literature. I think a lot of people go into reading poetry expecting to hate it or be confused by it, and the fact that most of the time students are required to read it for classes makes it that much less enjoyable.

Personally, I love language and how it’s used in most poetry, but I don’t often go out of my way to read it, and I definitely don’t expect the average student (or even the average English major) to start reading it for fun. However, I think reading poetry does have educational applications, since knowing the rhythm and flow of language can help improve writing. On the other hand, I seem to be the only person in the world who actually enjoys analyzing poetry, so my opinion on it is probably not shared by many.

Kara Hemphill
Copy Editor

I enjoy poetry very much. However, I have rather strict rules as to what I consider good poetry.
I enjoy the witty side of poetry: rhyme, rhythm, clever word-play, and so forth. I’m not the most openminded in the realm of poetry; my apologies to those of you who ascribe to the broader definition
of poetry.

Andrew Krigline
Page Designer/Web Designer

I don’t really care
About any poetry
Because I make art.

As a graphic design major, I am much more interested in the visual art world rather than the literary. I have always had an appreciation for books and writing, but poetry has never really been my strong suit. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to dissect the meaning behind the imagery in poetry but it is much easier for me to view a piece of art and interpret its meaning. So, I don’t dislike poetry or think that it is useless, but I don’t appreciate it as much as others might. I am much more comfortable in the visual world.

Katie Soinski
Page Designer/Advertising Designer

“Backward I see in my own days where I sweated through fog with
linguists and contenders,
I have no mockings or arguments…. I witness
and wait.”

-Walt Whitman

I believe that poetry is like music in the sense that there is a genre for everybody. While you may not like one type of poetry, there may be a genre out there that you do enjoy, you just have to search for it. Poetry allows for self-expression in a way that is different than any other form of writing. Reading and writing poetry, in my opinion, can effectively
expand the mind as well
as entertain.

Beau Brown
Arts and Life editor

Poet’s Tree

“Underneath the poet tree
Come and rest awhile with me,
And watch the way the word-web weaves
Between the shady story leaves.
The branches of the poet tree
Reach from the mountains to the sea.
So come and dream, or come and climb-
Just don’t get hit by falling rhymes.”

– Shel Silverstein

Katelyn Friel
New Editor

Poetry can be fun,
You can rhyme a ton.
It can be about sad things,
Or people that make
you sing!

I really like to eat food,
Which is why I have to run
like I’m being pursued.
I’m done rhyming now,
this is annoying…

Alexandra Didato
Copy Editor

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment,” Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Reading about the great poets and writers of literature has inspired me with my own writing. Great poets like Shakespeare, Whitman and Emerson serve as timeless models to aspiring writers by encouraging them to think outside of the box and not conform to societal norms. Instead, these brilliant thinkers inspire their readers to be independent thinkers and to not be afraid to stand by their beliefs.

Heather Beyer
Editor-in-chief