A Letter on the Subject of Poetry
Dear Reader,
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to our poetry issue! As an English major, I adore both reading and writing poetry, but I’m not going to lie, I still have a hard time defining what exactly poetry is. I’ve heard people say that poetry is how people think, and this is true to a certain extent. Some people might think in poems, but other people might think in prose. Additionally, poetry goes beyond just being a reflective piece of writing. It is a vast genre of literature that has many different forms, and I like the fact that a sonnet, a blackout poem, and a haiku all look very different from one another.
I do think that poetry is a very artistic way of writing. Poetry allows writers to be creative and expressive in ways that other genres of literature simply do not. Perhaps it is this creativity and this freedom that makes poetry what it is. However you choose to define poetry, I hope that you learn something from this issue and that it inspires you to go read some poems.
I would like to take a moment to recognize the hardworking students in Dr. Martin’s 300-level poetry class who contributed to this issue. Reece Maguire, Jude Williams, and L.C. Moffitt all wrote incredible how-to pieces about poetry. Their pieces can be found in the Opinion section, and they expertly explore titling, critiquing, and the effects of music on poetry. I would also like to give a huge shout-out to Dr. Martin for coming up with this collaboration!
But the poetry doesn’t stop in the Opinion section! In News and Worldview, you can read an interview that I conducted with Aimee Nezhukumatathil, our most recent Corrington Award winner. Of course, a paper wouldn’t be a paper without sports, and we did find a way to tie poetry to athletics in the form of hype/walk-up songs because lyrics are most definitely a kind of poetry! In the Sports section, you will find an incredible selection of music selected by Centenary’s very own student-athletes!
The last of the poetry extravaganza ends with a poetry crossword. There are a couple of other articles sprinkled throughout this issue, and I hope you enjoy all of them too!
Sincerely,
Jordan Fong, Editor-in-Chief
