Poetry Contest
Students submitted poetry entries into the April poetry contest in honor of National Poetry Month. When all the entries were submitted by April 27, the Butler librarians rated each poem on a score of one to 10. The entry with the highest average rating won the prize.
Mariah Ameen is Access and Outreach Librarian at Bulter Mariah Ameen is the access and outreach librarian (Photo Credit Josiah Rich). at Butler. She believes the contest can help Butler . students relax amid their studies.
"[Poetry] is a nice way to relax, express yourself in a calmer way and focus on your own thinking," said Ameen.
Raúl Rangel-Fernandez is a Spanish professor at Butler. A Chilean saying inspired him to write “Conspiracy of the Roots” for the library poetry contest. Rangel-Fernandez believes poetry forces him to focus.
“You have to be completely undistracted by phones or anything [to write poetry] because you have to be in your mental A-game. Whatever come[s] to mind, write it down and see what fits and what doesn’t,” said Rangel-Fernandez.
“[Poetry] helps get rid of [stresses in] not just work, but what’s going on in the world. Or you can use what’s going on to create poetry.”
Poetry can allow people to work through emotions from events in their own lives as well.
Martecia Cooper is an admissions counselor and adjunct instructor at Raúl Rangel Fernandez wrote "Conspiracy of the Roots" for the Butler's Andover campus. Her poetry submission "Darkened Tunnels" Library poetry contest (Photo credit Josiah Rich). helped her work through strong emotions from a divorce.
"I haven't talked about [my divorce] and it's been almost 20 years. I was scared to type it out because that's personal...[but] I just started doing it, shaping and formulating it, and then afterwards I felt better. It helped me heal from the trauma I went through."
Ransom Note and Blackout Poetry
Cutting out words and letters from magazines and pasting them on to make a poem, students can piece poems together at the ransom Martecia Cooper with her poem "Darkened Tunnels" note station in the libraries. They can also black out words from an (Photo credit Josiah Rich.) old book to create a poem out of the remaining words (called . blackout poetry).
Ameen believes poetry is beneficial to the authors.
"[Poetry] makes you slow down your brain [to] focus on how you're feeling and what you want to express," said Ameen.
"Poetry is a 'for you' kind of thing rather than for everybody, which is de-stressing in its own way."
Suné Viljoen is a sophomore and a part-time librarian at Butler. To her surprise, she enjoyed the ransom note poetry.
"I'm not a very creative person in general, [but blackout poetry] helped open up that door a bit to try more things because [the poetry] was easier than I expected," Viljoen said.
Besides opening her creativity, Viljoen noticed it gave her mental clarity.
"It cleared up some space in my head, and it was quite relaxing to not think about other things for a couple of minutes and put all my focus on one thing that's a creative outlet," said Viljoen.
Library events such as the blackout poetry and ransom note stations provide a way for Butler students like Vilhoen to de-stress before final exams in May.
Because poetry is de-stressing and relaxing, Martecia Cooper encourages all Butler students to write poetry.
"People have this misconception that you have to be a really good poet. [A poem] doesn't necessarily have to be a nursery rhyme. It could be about anything. It'd be a great way to help [students] relieve stress," said Cooper.
"And even if [you] don't want to write poetry, just write about your thoughts, your feelings. It helps process [them]."