Writing poetry is not in a bus driver’s job description.

 

Or so conventional wisdom would say. But Bob Seeley was so inspired by the original pieces read by the Verbal Blend poetry group on Sunday’s ‘Get on the Bus for Poetry’ tour that he scribbled down eight lines in an AABB rhyme scheme on the back of an envelope.

 

‘Some of the readings I was hearing were inspiring, and I have feelings, too,’ said Seeley, who works for Onondaga Coach Corp. His poem was about his job as a bus driver and the people he encounters on the bus each day.

 

Seeley’s poem was one of several spontaneously written pieces that afternoon. As the two tour buses traveled through Syracuse and Auburn, N.Y., on the Connective Corridor route for the group’s third annual gathering, student and faculty poets stood up to read their work each time the bus stopped in front of a historical landmark. Some of the poetry were prepared weeks in advance, while others were inspired only minutes before their deliveries.

 

‘Everyone has a poem inside them, it’s just a matter of finding it,’ said Cedric Bolton, adviser of Verbal Blend. Bolton would know. In his role as adviser, he currently holds writing workshops twice a week to

help students find their passion for writing and a cause within the community about which to be passionate.

As the buses passed abandoned storefronts and historic architecture, students saw firsthand the potential and pitfalls of Syracuse. The tour stopped in front of such landmarks as the Everson Museum of Art, the Syracuse Stage and the Onondaga Historical Association, giving students an idea of off-campus gems.

 

Bolton told the group members he hopes they visit these landmarks again and take the time to educate themselves about the city.

 

‘Wherever you go when you graduate, hopefully you take a little piece of Syracuse with you,’ he said.

About half of the 69 students on board were members of Verbal Blend, while the other half attended as part of their Freshman Forum.

 

‘I thought this would be a great way for first years to learn about the Syracuse community,’ said Kandice Salomone, an associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the leader of the Freshman Forum in attendance. ‘I figured it would be a great way for the students to spend an afternoon and have some time to get to know each other.’

 

The tour was also meant to encourage students to become more engaged in the community and help out with some of its problems. They could draw inspiration from the city and craft poetry that will inspire others.

‘We all need to be inspired now,’ Bolton said. ‘People are losing jobs; people are homeless; there was a huge oil spill in the Gulf. Students have a lot to say about these issues, they just need some guidance to find their voices and say it.’

 

Once students identify the issues that spark their passions, they need to be able to not only put their emotions on paper, but also be confident enough in their words to share them with others, Bolton said.

 

‘They need to be empowered writers to say to themselves before reading their work, ‘I can do this,” he said.

Students and staff had plenty of opportunities to share their work on the tour. Pieces read aloud discussed domestic abuse, racism, self-identity crises and even sci-fi fantasy. Some pieces were untitled, some had been dutifully polished and revised, and some were not even finished. But it made no difference — students savored however much writing they produced.

 

‘The members of the poetry learning community all wrote a poem together, and it came out really cohesively,’ said Amanda Fox-Rousch, a freshman communication and rhetorical studies major and member of Verbal Blend. ‘I’ve just really been enjoying writing my own poetry and listening to everyone else’s.’

 

The tour’s final destination was in Auburn, N.Y. — the Harriet Tubman Home.  The former home of the Underground Railroad icon resonated with Verbal Blend members and served as a symbol of determination and perseverance.

 

From poetry scribbled on an envelope’s back to carefully crafted verses, tour members left the bus as confident writers who could not only think on their feet, but also step outside their comfort zones.

 

‘Verbal Blend has really taught me to be myself, no matter who that person is,’ said Tyler Rice, a sophomore marketing major and a mentor to first-year Verbal Blend students. ‘It’s taught me that I can always make whatever I want to do better.’

 

ertocci@syr.edu

Published on September 19, 2010 at 12:00 pm