Ripon College Days

Adam Woods [Click to enlarge]

As a child he stapled together collections of pictures and musings for his parents. These days he sets out his latest poems for all to read in the commons once or twice a year. Adam Woods is an aspiring poet.

Woods, an only child and native of Madison, managed to survive what he labels a relatively boring youth. As a kid he played soccer and video games and didn't take up writing poetry until he was 18. Since then, Woods tries to write nearly every day.

"I had a distorted view of poetry at first," he says. "I thought things had to have a set rhyme scheme. For the first year and a half or so, I was cocky, and I was terrible."

Reading poets like Billy Collins, Poe and Yusef Komunyakaa has helped Woods refine his craft. Feedback from peers and Professors of English Kate Sontag and David Graham has also been useful.

"Graham has helped a lot," he says. "I think we have a similar approach to poetry. We try not to take ourselves too seriously, but we take the art seriously."

The junior English major finds himself inspired by music and a thing that has pervaded much of his life-school. He cites the Beastie Boys' nonsensical lyrics and rhythms as a special influence, adding he can't carry a tune himself.

Also a member of the cross country and track teams at Ripon, Woods draws comparisons between running and writing.

"Poetry is kind of like running," he says. "Sometimes you know you're doing terrible, and you just hope nobody's watching. Other days, you feel great and don't mind if people are around to see you. It's a back-and-forth type of thing, really. You can't wait to be inspired."

While he's drawn to the heavy subject of death, on all its levels, Woods typically avoids clichŽ love poems.

"[Love is] something I try to steer clear of. It's easy to find yourself writing about it, especially when you're inexperienced, but it never comes out very good quality," he says.

And while he thrives on poetry, he's refraining from seriously trying his hand at prose.

"It's harder to keep that emotional distance," he says, adding he prefers writing little bits and pieces of poems as they come into his mind.

Woods is currently dabbling in another of the arts-theater. After his thespian debut in last year's one-act productions, he successfully auditioned for senior theatre major Leslie Rivers' piece this semester. He claims the play is his final performance, but says he's having a good time.

When he's not running, writing or acting, Woods can be seen cruising around campus on his skateboard. He first picked up the habit after hearing a friend's stories of drunken longboarding and has stuck with it.

Above all else, Woods emphasizes the importance of practice-in writing and in life.

"I was just telling someone, writing poetry is kind of like gambling," he says. "The more you play, the more chances of hitting the jackpot, but also the more times you've probably failed. But, it's all worth it in the end."

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