Students sat down to listen on how poetry and spoken word can help veterans.
In honor of Veterans Day, about 30 students gathered to explore the idea of how poetry and spoken word can be used as a coping mechanism for those who have encountered war at some point in their lives.
Baker Theater hosted a “Hidden Poetry: How does poetry help people who carry the hidden wounds of war and trauma?” panel discussion Thursday, which was followed by a Veteran Poetry Workshop.
The panel consisted of 15-20 minute blocks of discussion from each panelist. Each block was dedicated to how people who have experienced war communicate and the stories along with those experiences.
One of the panelists, David Adams, associate professor at Ohio State University at Lima, said there is usually a split between veterans who communicate past experiences through words and those who do not. The use of metaphors can also help represent past events in writing and spoken word.
“A metaphor is important because it allows for a disguised communication,” Adams said.“If a serviceman doesn’t want to answer the question ‘what was it like in Iraq?' writing a poem or telling a story could fill in a metaphor while getting a sense of what they felt.”
Three other panelists joined Adams in the discussion: Jason Hoppe, an English professor at West Point; Roger Thompson, associate professor at Stony Brook University; and Becca Lachman, a poetry and war scholar at Ohio University.
The four panelists delved deeper into the works of poetry and techniques used by student-veterans to interact with others and express their experiences in war.
Aaron Babcock, a graduate student studying English literature, credited the event for allowing the audience to be more analytical of veterans.
“It allows us to think about the veteran experience in a more individually than collectively,” Babcock said. “We often lump everyone together.”
Adams said this event was able to show that veterans are people with different experiences that are often overlooked in the media. He added that many veterans prefer not to communicate through words.
“We shouldn’t always be expecting a confessional story talking about everything that has happened in the past,” Adams said. “We need to be open to all kinds of modes of communication when someone has been through some kind of trauma.”
Babcock said many people stress about taking care of veterans, don't seem to put a lot of interest is put into what those individuals’ experiences were like.
Nicole Eugene, a Ph.D. student studying communication studies with a focus on health communication, hosted the event and said it’s fascinating to study how poets have a passion for poetry.
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“Part of what makes it intriguing is that that are compelled to do it,” Eugene said. “It also allows a forge for community. There are other people who collect oral histories that are giving people voice.”
She also discussed there is a powerful bond that can be created based on a reader’s similar experience with the poem and strong written art.
Babcock said he wishes OU would put on more events like this that tie into the expression of emotional trauma.
“I think there’s opportunity for it, but it’s not as advertised as it should be,” he said.
@jcooke1996
jc390413@ohio.edu
