WCSU student named Connecticut Collegiate Poet
Isabella Bullock, a professional writing student at Western Connecticut State University, was named a Connecticut Collegiate Poet by the Connecticut Poetry Circuit for 2022-23.
As a result of this honor, the Westport resident will travel the state participating in poetry readings and events.
After graduating from Staples High School, Bullock planned to study creative writing with an emphasis on playwriting and screenwriting at a New York State public university. A year into her studies, the COVID-19 pandemic forced her classes online and Bullock realized it didn’t make sense to pay the out-of-state tuition while continuing her education at home.
“It was definitely a lane change,” Bullock said. When she looked at college options in Connecticut, only Western Connecticut “had the same creative opportunities. I transferred to WCSU in 2020 as a professional writing major with a focus on creative writing and a minor in marketing,” she said.
There, Bullock met Professor of Writing and Literature Brian Clements, who has authored or edited more than15 print and digital collections of poetry — and her love of poetry was awakened.
“I had always liked poetry, but never realized how much I love it,” Bullock said. “Poetry is the foundation for a lot of my writing, so when Dr. Clements sent me an application to be considered to be a Connecticut Collegiate Poet, I trusted his guidance and what he believes I’m capable of and applied. It was a shock that I was selected.”
The Connecticut Poetry Circuit is a “longstanding tradition that recognizes the best undergraduate poets in the state,” Clements said. Bullock was selected this year, “and we’re not the least bit surprised.”
“Isabella’s poems have a rich sonic layering that accompanies a calmness of spirit unusual among poets her age. She’s already an accomplished poet, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing her widely in print in coming years,” he said.
Bullock, who commutes to WCSU and works two part-time jobs while taking classes, said her poems are about life, real experiences and what she has witnessed as a people watcher.
“God is also a big part of my poetry as an inspiration,” she said, “and a lot of what I write about is based upon my faith.”
When she graduates in May, Bullock plans to take a working gap year to teach English in Vietnam.
The Connecticut Poetry Circuit was established in 1968 to continue the work of the New England Poetry Circuit, which was founded in 1964 by the Academy of American Poets and Holly Stevens, daughter of the poet Wallace Stevens. who was also a Hartford insurance executive.
In addition to Bullock, this year’s winning student poets are Sara Greene of Eastern Connecticut State University, Oliver Egger of Wesleyan University, Alisa Mejia of Quinnipiac University and John Nguyen of Yale University.