Post Classifieds
Poetry project picks out favorite female writers
By Angelica Rodriguez
On March 20, 2013
The Buffalo State chapter of Sigma Tau Delta kick-started its monthly poetry project Tuesday
with a focus on poems by famous female poets as well as student writers to commemorate
Women's History Month.
The poems were printed on postcards and displayed on bulletin boards and elsewhere on
campus, providing easy access for passers-by.
Sigma Tau Delta president Timea Kernicova, a senior English education major, said the focus of
this month's project is to raise awareness of women's role in poetry and literature.
"A lot of women in literature are underrated, so we're taking advantage of Women's History
Month to kind of flood the campus with women's poetry," she said.
This includes Emily Dickinson and other mainstream poets, but also those less visible in the
classroom, including Leslie Marmon Silko and Buffalo native Lucille Clifton, whom Kernacova
and vice president Amanda Pratt named as some of their favorite female poets.
"The thing is that... women in general are seen as subtle, subdued creatures, and this is why we
want to make a splash," Kernacova said. "The time has come for us to be subtle and subdued.
We need to speak out, and poetry is definitely a way for us to do that."
The idea came from the honor society's advisor, assistant English professor Lorna Perez, who
wanted something significant to begin the semester.
"This project will keep thematizing over the next couple of months, but it starts with Women's
History Month," Perez said. "We were thinking about ways to make literature, and specifically
poetry, more accessible to people who might not otherwise pick it up, since poetry is
notoriously 'difficult' for people to access."
She added that it also provides an immediate, portable forum for writers to express themselves.
"(The postcards are) quick and easy to print up, and people can pick them up and read and take
them with them," she said.
Perez, Kernacova and Pratt all acknowledged the fact that poetry is perceived to be boring and
difficult to understand, in part because of the way it is taught.
"Poetry is not made accessible to students," Kernacova said. "(The professors) give you
what you're supposed to be reading ... but for the general audience that might be daunting,
especially because of the language. They're not given a chance to read and to explore."
The society hopes to change that with this project, which continues through the end of
the semester and is continuing to solicit submissions from students across campus. In the
meantime, Pratt said she hopes people see the underlying message of this month's endeavor.
"I think it's a really (important) thing to empower women in general," Pratt said.
"It's a not-so-formal way to get people thinking, not only about women in poetry, but poetry in
general, and then when they look deeper into it and see what a beautiful thing it is to highlight
women (like this), I think that in itself is really valuable."
Angelica Rodriguez can be reached by email at rodriguez.record@live.com.
Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly
Recent The Record News Articles
Students donate shoes, raise money for Boston bombing victims
Buffalo State's Evergreen program is teaming up with the nonprofit Herding for the Hurting in collecting donated shoes to raise money ...
Chartwells plans campus food truck
The food truck phenomenon has made its way to campus as the route, menu and name of a new Chartwells truck will be decided on by ...
USG sens motion 'no confidence'
Correction: In light of new information learned following the publishing of the original version of this story, The Record would like ...
Discuss This Article
GET TOP STORIES DELIVERED WEEKLY
FOLLOW OUR NEWSPAPER
LATEST THE RECORD NEWS
- We've Moved to www.buffstaterecord.com!
- Obama divulges new higher education initiative during visit to UB
- Ailing Podolefsky steps down as president
- SUNY appoints Cohen interim president
- President Podolefsky announces leave to fight cancer
- Rappers put Pepsi in a bind
- Congrats to grads: take next step with gratitude
RECENT THE RECORD CLASSIFIEDS
OUTSIDE THE LINES
- A Story To Sing About
- The Gap in Gum Care: Why Caring For Your Teeth’s F...
- Top Tips for Signature Scents and Better-Smelling Laundry
- A Dog Trainer’s Top Tips to Support Pets Through Life S...
- Clear the Air of Indoor Pollutants This Spring
- Stroke & Dementia in Black Men: Tips for Staying Healthy...
- Hispanics and African Americans at Higher Risk for Eye...
- African Americans at Higher Risk for Eye Disease
- Infinity Kings: Final Book In A Favorite Fantasy Series
- What You Need To Know About Keratoconus and the iLink...
FROM AROUND THE WEB
- Don’t Let Diabetes Shortchange Your Golden Years
- No Child is Forgotten By Marine Toys for Tots
- Sweeten Your Springtime Salads With Healthy Chilean Grapes
- Young Author Translates 4,000-Year-Old Text to Reveal...
- Keeping Cool and Energy-efficient Amid America’s “...
- Addressing Sarcopenia with a Healthy Diet
- Subway’s New Wraps Elevate Eating on the Go
- Family Teacher Conference Topics Beyond Academics
- Youth Take Down Tobacco
- BookTrib’s Bites: Four Reads to Kickoff Spring
COLLEGE PRESS RELEASES
- Shoff Promotions Comic Book & Sports Card Show
- Semiconductor Research Corp unveils 2024 Research Call, $13.8M Funding
- Charles River Associates Opens Second Scholarship Cycle, Expands to the UK
- BLUMHOUSE AND AMC THEATRES LAUNCH FIRST-EVER HALFWAY TO HALLOWEEN FILM FESTIVAL
- THE GEN Z IMPERATIVE: LISTEN TO FEELINGS AND GIVE GEN Z A VOICE
