A few words with Jessica Gonzalez

Student Senater, Poet, and all around Bad-ass

Danielle Koagel

A&E Editor

Tell me about Wordsmithies. How does the club operate? How are you involved? How did you get to be president? How long have you been President?

Wordsmithies is the SCC Poetry Club. It was started in Fall Quarter ’04 by its faculty advisor, Ed Harkness, and a group of students that were taking his English 274/275 (Beginning Poetry Writing 1 and 2) class. A “brethren” that doesn’t really bother with many formalities, the club caters to all lovers of poetry, whether they actually write or not. Most meetings are open forums for members to read what they want, whether it is a completed work of their own, or the work of a poet that they happen to love. Some just come to listen.

I was elected the Vice President after some deliberation the initial quarter, and Winter Quarter ‘05 the previous President decided that she was no longer going to attend SCC, and I was elected President. Wordsmithies meet in the Fishbowl (in the PUB behind the Cafeteria) on Wednesdays from 12:45-1:45 p.m and on Fridays from 1:30-2:30 p.m. We also have a bulletin board in the PUB where some of our poetry and happenings tend to be posted.

Plans for the upcoming year? What would you like to change?

Guerilla Poetry - our impromptu poetry readings all over campus between “passing times” as frequently as we can manage. Increased membership, some workshops open to students about poetry on campus, and hopefully an open mic or two before the PUB is torn down. We also plan to go to some off campus open mics and poetry readings that have not yet been decided on.

How long have you been writing poetry?

For as long as I can remember, though I did take a 3 year hiatus to deal with the death of a close loved one. Initially I started out writing in a very structured manner, Poe was my fav at the time. As time progressed, just like my abilities, I strayed more and more from structure and form. Recently I have been trying my hand at it again.

Where do you get your ideas/inspirations?

That’s an interesting question. “From everything” sounds a little too broad-spectrum, but it’s true. I guess my best tip for getting inspired is to read as many other authors as you can so that you know what’s out there and then write as much as you can.

If your heart is in the right place everything will work itself out. In my case, I read all the time, and tend to read poets from all spectrums and nationalities and that in turn gives my writing style somewhat of a unique element.

I will find a line or stanza that really moves me. From there I search the depth of my own intellect to explore why that is significant to me. I either write about the feeling it gave me or the memory/thing that it reminded me of. Poetry is all about making connections about the world that others don’t make. Poets want to comprehend the existence of all things or at least imbue it with some meaning.

Favorite poet? Book?

This is probably on of the hardest questions… I don’t have a favorite, that would be blasphemy, but some of my favorites range from: Pablo Neruda, Edgar Allen Poe, Margaret Atwood, Adrienne Rich, Terry Jacobus, Miguel Algarín, Saul Williams, and William Stafford.

Everyone should read and own: “, said the shotgun to the head” by Saul Williams and “Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets’ Café” edited by Miguel Algarín and Bob Holman. Check out the intro: “The Scattering of the Ashes: The Burial of a Poet.”

Ever had your work published?

Yes. Various online journals and last year’s Spindrift, though my last name was misspelled in the publication. (Editor’s note: Gonsalese? No. Gonsales? No. Gonzales? No. It be speled “Gonzalez” with Zs) Do you plan to incorporate poetry into your future? If so, how? Or why not?

Most likely I will be moving to California to pursue another aspect of my life that is of great importance to me next year and will be taking a 1-2 year hiatus in my higher education. I aspire to write a lot more and hope to refine my work enough to shop some manuscripts around down there and publish my own book of poems. Regardless, poetry is one of my greatest loves and I will continue to write regardless of fame and publication.

What moves you?

Truth. Emotion. Passion. Intensity. (Can you tell that I am a Leo?) anything that can help me better appreciate the meaning for my existence and the existence of others.

What role does poetry play in your life now? What initially attracted you to writing poetry?

I am currently taking the second installment of Beginning Poetry Writing (English 275). Poetry plays a huge role in my life, regardless of my other commitments because it brings me so much joy. My initial attraction and the reason why I continue to pursue it is simple: you can never perfect it. It is an inescapable dream. There is always a new form to be mastered, a subject that hasn’t been done its true justice; there are so many facets to the complexion of the human experience. So essentially: it is always fresh. (Not to sound too sentimental) Being a poet is like having a relationship with the literary art. It’s like falling in love for the first time and the euphoric feeling never goes away. It is a concise, and many times not as concise as others would like, way to tell the world how I feel. I believe that to be priceless.