Stan State hosted Alumna Schuyler Becker’s poetry workshop, where she discussed inspiration and advice when it comes to writing poetry.
This event took place on Nov. 19th in the writing center where Warrior Bookworms, Wordsmiths club members as well as other Stan State students were in attendance.
Schuyler Becker is a Stan State graduate student, who now teaches English and Poetry at Modesto Junior College.
Becker explained one of the tricks she uses to find time to write poetry.
“Using extra moments when you are on the go! Repeating lines and stanzas in my head until I remember them, so I can write them down later,” she explained.
She continued to explain that even if she’s driving a car, she will try to memorize what she wants to write down so that once she pulls over she will remember it.
Becker discussed the inspiration behind her becoming a poet and why she is continually called to write poetry.
“What’s inspired me to be a poet really is probably how I’ve wanted to approach life. Something I’ve talked about in one of the classes I’m teaching is how I really lean into mindfulness, and I think that living as a poet really helps you tap into being present and knowing the little things in life and looking at smaller details,” she said.
Julian Saenz-Payne (Graduate Student, English), President of Bookworms and Wordsmiths, spoke about his delight in inviting Becker back to Stan to share about what inspires her. Which in turn led Saenz-Payne to learn a bit more about his own writing process.
“It was great, the Bookworm and Wordsmiths really wanted Schuyler to come and talk, so they were really excited. The best part was probably the 10-minute prompt where we were comparing paintings and trying to write a poem about it,” he said.
Saenz-Payne expressed how beneficial the exercises provided by Becker were, while also noting the importance of sharing his work with others in order to receive feedback and to grow in his writing.
Tuesday Mendez (Senior, English) spoke about his learned experience at the workshop. Mendez spoke in length about how he learned new things about his own poetry writing skills and where he thinks he could improve.
“As a lover of English and all its forms, I always try to express myself in different ways. As far as poetry, I’m not that well practiced, and this has been a really great experience with learning new techniques and new ways to practice my English,” he said.
Mendez shared his overall take away from this writing event and expressed his desire to implement what he learned into his future writing.
“It’s a little goofier than I’d like to think of it, but I think that’s something that needs to be embraced,” he stated.
Professor Anthony Perrello, English Literature, attended the poetry workshop alongside his fellow students. Perrello shared how he is always able to learn something new about his craft, and his love for poetry.
Perrello spoke about taking off his teaching cap to learn more about his own personal style of writing.
“I think it was a lot of fun because I put away my professorial cap for a half hour, and I wrote poetry and shared it with other people who wrote poetry, and Schuyler was a great guide, and the writing center is a very nice space for doing things like this,” Perrello stated.
Perrello also added that you can always do better, and even as a professor you are always a student to life, and learning something new either about yourself or about the world around you.
“You always learn that you can get so much better, and you always learn that there’s so much more to learn, and that everyone else is in the same boat as you,” he said.
To learn more about similar events visit Stan States events page.
