When Kristie Sobeck came to Quinnipiac in 1998, she was dismayed that despite having a faculty poetry reading, there was not an equal venue for student writers. With the help of her professors and some perseverance, she created an annual poetry reading where students, staff and community members could enjoy student poetry and other writings.
The fourth Annual Student Poetry Reading will take place on April 23 at 6 p.m. in the Mancheski Seminar Room.
“It’s pretty much a way for the students to express their creativity,” said Sobeck, now a senior.
Sobeck is also the president of the English Club, the main sponsor of the poetry reading, and the Editor in Chief of the Montage, Quinnipiac’s literary magazine.
“It’s a nice collaboration of people from other schools within Quinnipiac,” said Sobeck.
Out of the five students already signed up to share their creative writing, one is a health science student, one is a sociology major and one is from the School of Communications.
Though the event is labeled a poetry reading, Sobeck said there will be several different forms of writing.
“Student poetry reading is a little misleading, because it is not just poetry,” she said. “We’ve had people do spoken word pieces, reading from plays and short stories.”
In the past, students have gotten very creative, according to Sobeck. One year, she recalled, a girl brought in her guitar and sang her poem to music.
Last year’s poetry reading drew approximately 50 people, and though this years’ student poetry night will not be combined with the faculty readings as in the past, Sobeck is optimistic.
“We normally get a good turnout,” she said. “I hope we have more people this year. On the whole, the students I talked to last year really enjoyed it.”
Sobeck will be doing double duty that night, as the most recent Montage edition will be distributed during the reception following the poetry reading.
The event will be a bittersweet one for her, signaling the end of her reign in both the English Club and the Montage.
“It’s going to be a little sad for me this year because it’s my last reading,” she said. “In a way it’s a good thing, because I can look back and hope I have set a foundation for these literary traditions to continue.”
The English Club has blossomed over the past few years and is now very involved in the New Haven community as well as surrounding areas.
During Quinnipiac’s Christmas break, Sobeck and other English Club members spent time at Saint Raphael’s Hospital in New Haven reading to senior citizens.
The English Club also recently completed their “Literacy for Lunch” program at Monroe Elementary School. Club members worked with children over several weeks and helped them develop their creative writing skills. The students were taught different forms of poetry, including lyrical, limericks and haiku. The culmination of the program featured the elementary school childrens’ very own poetry reading.
“The kids really enjoyed that,” said Sobeck. “They looked forward to us coming and were so enthusiastic about it.”
For more information, contact Kristie Sobeck at x 8043 or email Montage @quinnipiac.edu.