As the winner of Project Poet 2023—and with it the title of Poet Laureate of the River Valley—University of the Ozarks junior Raegan Swafford earned something more valuable than even the first-place prize of $1,000.
“The entire experience has encouraged me to be more bold,” Swafford said. “Before Project Poet, I was just a person who wrote sometimes. Now, I am a poet; not because of the title, Poet Laureate, but because of the things that I wrote and shared with my community, openly.”
The English and psychology major from Van Buren, Ark., bested 17 other initial contestants this year in the popular fall competition that is presented by the English program and includes weekly challenges and an elimination format.
Swafford said she attended every episode of Project Poet in 2022, which was the official reboot of the event after Covid forced the competition to be canceled in 2020 and 2021.
“I loved attending and hearing the poems the contestants wrote,” she said. “This year, practically everyone I knew was telling me that I needed to enter the competition. I write a lot in my free time, but I haven’t ever openly shared my work before because I didn’t think people wanted to hear it. A few of my close friends and professors who had read some of my works before encouraged me to enter. After all, what did I have to lose?”
She said hearing her named called last week as the winner was “unreal.”
“I entered this competition ready to leave it because I was so far out of my comfort zone,” Swafford said. “After each round, the pressure just kept going up, which I think was true for all of the poets. Every person who entered this competition entered to win, and it showed. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing everyone’s poems and was honored to even be a part of the competition. So, to be given the first-place award and the title of Poet Laureate was—for lack of a better term—beyond insane.”
As a voracious reader, Swafford said English seemed like a perfect major to pursue. She plans to obtain a Ph.D. in English and become a college professor.
“Most English majors will tell you they chose English because they love to read, but I chose English because I live to read,” she said. “Growing up, I was always the kid who had her nose in a book. As I have grown, I have learned to appreciate the vastness of literature. It is divine. As a child, I saw books as a way of escaping the gruesome reality of our world. As a young adult, I see now that there is no escaping reality in books because there are far too many connections, symbols, and representations of our world in every book I read. And it is divine. To be able to see these connections and make sense of a single genre of literature is merely one reason why I chose to major in English.”
After just a couple of psychology classes at Ozarks, she decide to add it as a second major.
“I have always been interested in the concept of psychology and after just a few psychology classes, I was captivated,” Swafford said. “So, when people ask me why the double major, I say, ‘Why not?’ I have been able to apply so many psychological theories in English courses, so they complement each other rather well. The same goes for sociology. The only reason sociology is still a minor and not a major is that that would be three majors, which is a lot for one brain and unfortunately, people have limits. Needless to say, I think I made good choices for myself when deciding on my major and minor.”
Swafford said the poem-writing process was “not as complicated as some people make it out to be.”
“Stressful, yes, but not really complicated,” she said. “Every Thursday after Project Poet, we would be provided with next week’s prompt. The moment I saw each prompt, I had in my mind what I wished to write. Most of all, though, I had in mind how I wanted to make people feel.”
She said she never relied on a single point of inspiration.
“I joke that my inspiration was the deadline,” Swafford said. “In all seriousness, I think being pushed to write something meaningful in a short amount of time helped us poets be impulsive for once. I saw the prompts and immediately knew what to write, but because I didn’t have weeks to dwell on it, I just had to go with my gut. That said, I took inspiration from so many things. Each object of inspiration was tailored to the prompt. The first week, I was inspired by a single memory. The second week, it was my best friend. From there, it was Cinderella, Shakespeare, Louis Armstrong, and God. My primary source of inspiration comes from people. I think about a specific person and their influence on my life, other’s lives, and the world. I think about what they make me feel, why they make me feel, and I attempt to put it all into words. I don’t think a poem can ever be considered complete because there are so many layers that can’t possibly be included. They can be felt, most definitely, but putting all those feelings into words is tactically impossible. Thus, I wrote my best in the time I was given and attempted to say what I wished to express.”
Swafford’s favorite poem of the competition was the one she penned for the last challenge, “Philippians 4:6” (see below). The challenge for the last event was to write a poem about healing the hurt in the brothers and sisters beside us and in our community.
“I wrote a poem about the state of America today because it needs a little healing,” she said. “I wrote it from the point of view of the country itself, but I included many things that most people deal with on a daily basis. In the poem, the U.S. is having a panic attack and is trying to calm itself down. I titled it “Philippians 4:6” after one of my favorite Bible verses, which states, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”
While Swafford praised all of her professors at Ozarks for their support, she said one particular professor has been especially impactful for her.
“I had Dr. Edward Ardeneaux for an English class my freshman year, and I have had him for at least one class every semester since,” she said. “Dr. Ardeneauex also took on the challenge of being my academic advisor, so he has helped me tremendously throughout my college career. I am very passionate about English and take all my classes seriously, and Dr. Ardeneaux is the professor who pushes me in all of the best ways. Instead of shutting his students down when they’re wrong, he pushes them to think further. He knows what his students are capable of and challenges them to think differently, or at least to think more diligently. His classes are mostly discussion-based, so students have the chance to bring their thoughts on a novel or work we’ve read and give their thoughts. I love the class discussions because Dr. Ardeneaux guides the class in the discussion but rarely leads it, which is helpful because it pushes us to come to conclusions on our own. Every time I have an Dr. Ardeneaux class, I know it will not be easy, but it will always be my favorite class because I will always learn something I thought I already knew.”
“Philippians 4:6” by Raegan Swafford
Breathe
One.
What’s good is good, and what’s done is done.
The road to recovery has begun.
Two.
Everything you’ve heard is false, untrue.
They said it was fine, but deep down, we knew.
Waiting for the words, “There’s nothing we can do.”
Sure, I’ll be okay, but what about you?
Don’t you remember what they put us through?
Breathe
Three.
We can be anything that we want to be
In the home of the brave and the land of the free
Look out world! Just wait and see!
My tombstone will say “Greatness, Achieved.”
Four.
A national emergency they expect you to ignore.
You fight and you fight until you can’t anymore.
Is a pandemic less than a declaration of war?
Breathe
Five.
It’s harder for the ones who made it out alive.
Don’t feel guilty just because you survived.
Walk in faith and aim to be revived
Be someone who lives, be someone who thrives.
Six.
Six.
Six.
The devil came back with his same old tricks.
To steal, to kill, and to provide conflict.
Stop going back to the problem you can’t fix!
Breathe
Seven.
That’s better.
It’s the number from heaven.
Listen to Him, it’s okay to have questions.
You find the light and make it an obsession.
Eight.
Oh, here they go in another debate.
Why are they all filled with so much hate?
Nine.
Look at this beautiful world of mine
It will all be okay, part of God’s design.
He said it’s good, He said we’ll be fine.
Take what you have and make yourself shine.
Live by the rule: “You’ve got to be kind.”
Fine. Fine. Fine. Fine.
Breathe
Ten.
Topics: English