Four years ago, Chelsea Springer, a Taylor University freshman at the time, wrote a poem. Her words became the inspiration for Heart and Soul Poetry Club, a co-founder of the club said.
Kenedy Manuel, currently a TU senior, and Springer co-founded Heart and Soul Poetry Club in 2021 to create a space where people could share their love of poetry. They named the club after Springer’s poem, Manuel said.
“There was no space on campus for poetry,” Manuel said. “And actually, because I'm a history major, for one of my classes we had to do a Taylor history paper, and I decided to do one on poetry and literary clubs. And I kind of discovered we've never had one until now.”
Manuel discovered various famous poets in Taylor’s history. While Taylor had literary and writing clubs in the past, she wanted to dedicate one to poetry.
While Manuel and Springer took on a big project, they did not do it alone. Maribel Magallanes, director of student leadership and intercultural programs, helped them host events with the Office of Intercultural Programs (OIP).
They advertised for their new club by working different events and making an instagram account. Rain Taylor (‘24) designed posters to hang across campus.
Manuel and Springer worked as co-presidents to form the club. Others worked behind the scenes. Senior Rachel Lewchanin was the content creator for Heart and Soul Poetry Club.
Every month, Lewchanin selected a poet. She liked to match the poet to something significant going on that month, like Native American History Month or other celebrations.
“I try to find someone that's related to that month because there's also the history aspect,” Lewchanin said. “As a history major, it's kind of like, ‘Yeah, let's introduce a little history on this person or on this topic.’”
Sometimes, Lewchanin picked a random time period or country to find her poet of the month. She made slides, wrote a short biography and collected a few poems for the members to discuss during the meeting.
As Manuel and Lewchanin prepare to graduate, they want to pass the club on to the next leaders and preserve a love for poetry on Taylor University’s campus. This semester, Manuel is working to make Heart and Soul Poetry Club an official club at Taylor University.
Manuel reached out to Kelli Cummings, director of the writing center at Zondervan Library, to ask if she would be their new faculty adviser for poetry club.
“I actually have an MFA in creative writing poetry, so I write poetry myself,” Cummings said. “I really loved writing poetry, reading poetry. It is something that I'm passionate in, and I was excited to be asked to do it (be the poetry club faculty adviser).”
She is excited to share her love for poetry with new people. She said anyone can love poetry. Some classes can make poetry feel old and stiff, but Cummings said there are many contemporary writers to enjoy.
Manuel said members do not need prior experience with poetry to join the club. She said readers can enjoy and appreciate a poem without even understanding it.
“I think poetry is one of the one forms of writing that you get to see a lot of the souls of people even in ways we don't even understand, which is why I love poetry,” Manuel said.
Heart and Soul Poetry Club meets every first and third Friday of the month in Reade’s Relief room. It is open to all. Manuel said attendees just have to show up and be ready to engage with poetry and poetry lovers.
