Ouachita Stories

As a psychology and sociology double major, I wasn’t planning on taking a poetry class my first semester. However, my OBU Connections professor, Dr. Doug Sonheim, encouraged me to sign up for a new, half-hour course offered to students of all majors, Poetry 101. He also encouraged me to add an English major or minor, and this seemed like a good way to jump into a new English writing minor.

Poetry 101 has been a great way to decompress and have good conversation mid-week. I feel like the class draws a large crowd each week because students enjoy hearing from their professors in a different setting. Dr. Sonheim, who also serves as chair of the Department of Language and Literature, has invited not only professors from the English department but other faculty members, as well.

As a psychology and sociology major, I particularly enjoyed hearing from Dr. Randall Wight, dean of the Sutton School of Social Sciences, about William Blake’s “And did those feet” and R.W. Emerson’s “Days.” Professors from the theatre department, Spanish department, and even from OBU’s NLC campus have spoken at Poetry 101. The poem(s) each speaker picks usually have some personal relevance to them, which deepens discussion. I enjoy hearing about the backgrounds of different poets, stories associated with different poems, and, of course, discussing the actual poem.

During one class, the speaker had us walk around the room while we spoke the poem out loud to ourselves. At first, I was more focused on how awkward I felt while trying not to bump into others; however, it was eye-opening to walk to the tune of the poem, in a sense. I felt like it helped the poem come to life in my own mind. The poem was “Ithaka” by C.F. Cavafy. It was therapeutic as we thought about our own personal “cyclops,” i.e. fears, stresses and insecurities. It was a good reminder to enjoy life instead of being so distracted and consumed by our “cyclops.” The good isn’t the destination alone, but also in what we learn on the journey.

Overall, Poetry 101 has been a great experience. It requires next to no commitment outside of actually going to class, and time spent in class is quite refreshing. I love annotating with words and pictures as the speaker is presenting the poem or its context or while discussion is occurring. It is also exciting to go into class knowing nothing of the poem, only to come out with newfound wisdom or some sort of personal meaning attached to it.

 

By Dominique Smith, a freshman psychology and sociology major from Allen, Texas.