For five consecutive years, Quinnipiac University students have secured titles in the Connecticut Poetry Circuit. Five students from colleges and universities across the state are brought on a tour to several Connecticut schools to read their work to an audience.
The readings create a welcoming forum for students to share their work with those of similar passions.
Every year, one student is nominated from each Connecticut college or university, and the top five students are selected for the circuit.
Quinnipiac students are nominated by Jason Koo, associate teaching professor of English. In 2017, Nhung An was the first Quinnipiac student to win since Koo began nominating in 2012.
“It’s been a thrill to see students from QU recognized as one of the winners for each of the past five years,” Koo said. “It confirms that we have a strong culture for creative writing here and that what I’m doing in the classroom is making a difference.”
This year, senior English major Elliot Wilson was awarded the title.
“I honestly would’ve been shocked if Elliot didn’t win this year,” Koo said. “I’ve been confident about all the students I’ve nominated before, but really confident about Elliot because of the level they are writing at.”
Wilson will soon join the other four winners to share their poems on the tour.
“I wasn’t feeling any particular way when I found out, but now that it’s closer to happening I feel a lot about it,” Wilson said. “Mostly anxious, but I’m glad that I’ve been recognized for my work as well.”
Wilson first heard of the poetry circuit through their friend and senior English major, August Della Donna, who made the top five in 2024.
“Just to be in a room with people that appreciate your art as much as you do was really fantastic,” Della Donna said. “It really just solidified for me that that’s what I want to do.”
Prior to Della Donna, Alisa Mejia earned the title for 2023, Brian Ataka for 2022 and Joelle Grey for 2021, all of whom attended Quinnipiac.
As each student is entering the contest, they create a portfolio of their best work. Wilson chose five poems to submit.
“Newcomb, New York” is a blank verse poem Wilson wrote about the memories they have of an old cabin in the Adirondacks that their family used to visit every summer.
“I wrote it because the cabin was closed for a while due to the pandemic and I missed it,” Wilson said.
Wilson then chose three sonnets, all written in blank verse: “New Me,” “Ecstasy” and “A Long Silence.” Wilson wrote “New Me” to themself, reflecting on changes they have undergone during the past few years.
“Ecstasy is a reflection on the pains and pleasures of being an artist, written partially as an homage to John Donne’s poetry and the poetry of the English Renaissance,” Wilson said. “A Long Silence” is about being a night person in a morning person’s world. It was written with inspiration from the poems of the Stray Dog Cabaret, translated from Russian to English by Paul Schmidt.”
Wilson now awaits the tour, and continues being praised for this honor.
“I’ve gotten a lot of congratulations from peers and professors who have heard the news, which has surprised me every time it’s happened,” Wilson said. “I didn’t realize that it was a big enough deal that people would care.”
Before Wilson enrolled at Quinnipiac, they participated in the Bobcat for a Day program and were shown the campus by Della Donna. Now, three years later they share a passion for creative writing and title in the poetry circuit.
“It’s been a complete full circle for me,” Della Donna said. “I’ve really seen their writing grow and develop, and how much more confident they’ve become, and now they get to have that same experience that I did.”
Both Wilson and Della Donna worked with Koo to choose their best work to submit.
Della Donna’s submissions included “a letter to my dad’s girlfriend” “portrait at thirteen”and “citrus.” All three poems submitted were from their chapbook, “tooth & nail.” Della Donna channels both emotion and intensity in their work.
“Citrus was more about using femininity as an excuse to have people take advantage of you,” Della Donna said. “And about how it feels to be used.”
“A letter to my dad’s girlfriend” was written under a prompt to write a letter to someone who doesn’t know you exist. Della Donna used this poem in particular as an outlet to share everything they were feeling, and was later honored for their work.
Wilson and Della Donna have both developed a strong passion for creative writing and poetry, as shown in their majors and beyond.
“I actually don’t have as broad a background in poetry as I do in creative writing, but someone’s told me that my poetry is better than my creative writing, so my priorities are more split now,” Wilson said. “Go figure.”
Della Donna has been writing for as long as they can remember. After taking a creative writing class as a senior in high school, they truly knew it was what they would continue doing.
By the end of sophomore year at Quinnipiac, they had taken almost all of the creative writing classes that were offered.
“I found it to be something that I really enjoyed and was really passionate about, and something that it felt like I was now being recognized for,” Della Donna said.
