By AIDA REYNOLDS
Tiger Media Network
“Let my pen write veins on paper,
– My therapy is your therapy by Eileen Veatch
And let my heart beat out blood
I’m gutting myself with this pen.
Could you like me for me?”
Veatch’s Reading of “My therapy is your therapy”
Eileen Veatch is many things: a sophomore studying English with a writing concentration, a motorcyclist, and FHSU’s current poet laureate. The role of poet laureate is one she was only recently elected to with the graduation of the prior position-holder, Liam Brown. But her life has been defined by verse and rhythm. Reading between the lines of poetry lies her lived experiences eloquently repackaged into stanzas.
Veatch has published one collection of poetry thus far, entitled “3am Notes”, with the hopes of pursuing further publication through traditional routes later down the road. For now, she works alongside faculty such as Morgan Chalfant to bring her vision of all that poetry can mean to life in her community. Veatch’s work proves that poetry is more than something to be studied in the rigidity of the classroom. Poetry can be the voice of a generation, and Veatch stands at the center stage of this cultural open mic.
As FHSU’s poet laureate, Veatch functions both as a representative, resident artist, and outreach coordinator. Veatch has a broad scope in mind for her tenure as poet laureate.
“My goal is to do online events to reach people outside of Kansas,” she said).
While Hays has an active poetic subculture, Veatch is more ambitious than mere underground currents. She imagines and details large-scale poetry-themed events. Prior poet laureates hosted events such as ‘black-out poetry’ where novices took pages of unused books and blotted out all but a few words with a black marker, resulting in a brand new poem. These dreams are as exciting as they are nerve-wracking.
“Trying to come up with events, and trying not to be disappointed. I want large events, but I can’t let myself get discouraged if there is a low turnout,” she said.
The poetic pulse of Hays, is alive and beating, but Veatch wants more than anything to strengthen it into a resounding aspect of our community. Until then, she said she will be working with Chalfant to publish her next book
“3am Notes” is an apt title for Veatch’s first published poetry collection, as Veatch’s journey began on a sleepless night five years ago. From “a girl who is a little too sad and loves the moon a little too much.” (3am Notes Amazon Storefront) comes a poignant translation of her inner thoughts transposed to paper. Her works touch upon topics such as love, emotional strife, and life through the lens of girlhood.
“So, I let myself close my eyes and/Mourn for the person I should have been./I screamed with the thunder./The kind of scream that makes your/Gut squeeze and hands clench./Suddenly, July days turned to October nights.”
(“The song of October”, Veatch).
In putting pen to paper, she found a creative outlet and a talent that would pave the way for where she is today. Insomnia drove her to pick up the pen, but the thrill of challenges and contests spurred her forward. It was one such challenge that earned Veatch her first book publication.
“The deal was, ‘if you can write 21 poems in 21 days, then we’ll publish you,’” Veatch said.
Though inspired by the likes of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, Veatch also hopes to inspire poets today.
“[Poetry] doesn’t have to be as strict as school teaches it. It can be whatever you want it to be,” she said. “Just. Write. Don’t worry about what others think about it, just write.”
Veatch, above all else, works to promote poetry and poets as a whole. She advises any fledgling poets with the hopes of spreading their wings to utilze the variety of opportunities Hays offers. The Hays Public Library hosts an annual contest, and the Art Walk occasionally displays poetry alongside other creative expressions. Hays—and Kansas at large—is alive with the creative heartbeat of writers, thrumming just beneath the surface. Poetry is just as relevant as ever, and Eileen Veatch works as the poet laureate to exhume that beating heart, drawing it out from the dark of insomnia-ridden nights and into the light to be appreciated for the art that it is.