In the land of paper and ink, words can come to life on a page. They can tell a story, and over time blossom into a person’s voice. It can be a poem, a song or even just a strongly worded text message. Discovering the endless possibilities within literature can open many new doors to finding one’s passion.
This is how Poetry Club President Saya Ryu discovered the world of creative writing, and found her voice within it.
Ryu was first swept away by the beauty of poetry in middle school, after reading an essay collection from her school in South Korea.
“It’s kind of funny because I started off reading poetry in Korean but writing it in English,” Ryu said. “Oh, the beauty of language!”
Ryu recently cultivated her passion into an organization called the 309 Collective, a state-wide group of students that work to publish their writing through websites and digital magazines. She plans to introduce the 309 Collective to her newly established Poetry Club as well, inviting students into the world of creative literature.
“Our main goal right now is just to have fun and share our writings,” Ryu said.
When Ryu first arrived at Northwood’s “rolling hills” from Korea during her freshman year, she felt overwhelmed by the bustling atmosphere at Northwood and was challenged with finding a community that would best suit her.
Feeling lost without direction, Ryu remembered the poetry collections she had loved so dearly back when she was in middle school. After rereading them, she found the motivation to start writing again. Ryu decided to join a summer program in creative writing.
“My voice would shake while I read my writings,” Ryu said. “But as I was reading, I saw a room full of people paying attention to every word I wrote, and finally writing didn’t feel so lonely anymore.”
Throughout that summer, Ryu continued to improve her confidence as a writer with the help of those around her. She found both motivation and inspiration amongst the other passionate young poets in the program. She had found her community, and with it, her voice.
“It sounds intimidating at first, but once you see a crowd of people clapping from the writing you wrote, you just feel so alive,” Ryu said.
Feeling this freedom to express herself through creative writing is something that Ryu strives to help students with. Poetry has been a form of writing that has fallen through the cracks and students with a passion for creative arts struggle to find a career where their interests lay.
“Our main goal is to tell people at our school that writing isn’t just for grades,” Ryu said. “We just follow the rubric and believe that the writing is meaningful, but there is so much more to writing than that.”
Ryu hopes that her Poetry Club meetings this coming Oct. 9 and every Monday after in room 1203 will inspire people to dive deeper into poetry and creative writing. She believes that if students have more opportunities to find a community within writing, they can unlock more of their creative potential.
“Whatever makes your voice, that’s writing,” Ryu said. “Hopefully the club gets to spark that mindset for others.”
