Writer's Block and a Selection of Poems
And why it is necessary to take a break (every once in a while) but also be creative too...
After midterms consuming last week for me, it was hard to truly write something for sophstack. I started a piece that I guess I will release some point in the future but it felt hard and arduous to continue after writing my essay on Marx amongst other various tasks. Prior to starting sophstack, most of my creative writing pursuits were poems, as it was easy to simply take a break and write a poem addressing something.
At my secondary school every other week, we hosted Chapel, attributing to our origin to being a choir boy’s school for the adjacent Church. Although I am Jewish, I graduated twice from that space as well as played Mary in the annual Christmas pageant. Additionally, besides those emblematic moments, in my four years of high school, I always participated in the annual Poetry Chapel, which coincided with the celebration of National Poetry Month, April, which just ended.
Half of those times I read my own original poems and the other two I selected poems from what I have read. But all four times, the poem held some attachment to me. I also had three poems published in ephemera, the art and literary magazine I eventually came to helm, that each spoke of a different generation of the women before my father (grandmother, great great grandparents, and great grandmother).
Arriving at UChicago, I somehow wrote an article for MODA and five essays per quarter (nine week terms plus a finals week) as well as eventually a weekly piece for sophstack. But ironically, now as my workload has calmed, I feel the most burn out and blocked yet. I thrive off of reading and writing…in addition to the many creative endeavours I participate in. But like anyone, I have my limits and it seems it has hit me not too soon before my first year of university ends.
So in honour of a just ended Poetry Month and a college-aged girl struggling to write prose adequately and efficiently in the moment…here is a sampling of six poems from my POETRY folder in my Notes app (which I created in 2020):
Ok I’m not going to lie they are all about family (except one)…they are my biggest influences and supporters and I cannot imagine life without my parents, brothers, grandparents (who after this week have all visited Chicago now except for dear Ollie) as well as my great grandmothers, Ma and Mumis.
I know I just exposed one and there are hints in a couple, but they are my biggest inspirations everrrr and the one that is not Fodor/Peisach/Haime/Saraga related was my last Poetry Chapel Poem and was a testament to my alma mater in my penultimate month there. Fellow alums will of course understand the references.
This also felt fitting to post now as it is the middle of Birthday Season for my family…all of my brothers and my father and paternal grandmother were born between the 15th of April and 25th of May, exactly every ten days and within the men, it goes youngest to oldest with my grandmother in the middle. Additionally my birthday is the 25th of August and my maternal grandmother is the 25th of June to add to this crazy birthday trend.
As I am not celebrating in person with any of them this year unfortunately, I hope this is a good sophstack style birthday present for all of them as I cannot share their dinner and dessert of choice with them…I am so lucky to be surrounded by their love during the time I spend with each of or all of them. Summer will be an exciting time once we are all properly reunited before each of my brothers set off on their own journeys!
To end on a nice and springy note, here is a collection of the garden the UChicago campus has become in this past month to add to the incredible weather lately. So jealous of Nico being able to experience proper Chicago summer as it seems amazing!
Happy May Day,
Sophia x
As always, beautiful!
How can I forget the poem you wrote about me?
Enjoy beautiful UChicago.
Love you! B