Merton College Poetry Society
Merton College Poetry Society is a Merton-based but University-wide poetry society.
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It has been a real pleasure to run the Merton College Poetry Society this academic year with Eryn Greenaway and Ishbel Hallam. Our sessions on Monday evenings have been attended by a loyal cohort of Mertonians, and we have also delighted in welcoming students from other colleges.
In Michaelmas, our weekly meetings were a great opportunity to meet the incoming first years, and it has been wonderful to have these friendships flourish over the course of the year. Our first collaboration of the year was with the JCR Welfare Representatives, as part of the College’s welfare week; this was a great chance to welcome some new faces to the Poetry Society and to consider the ways that the society can be beneficial to our wellbeing. Later in the term we hosted a joint session with the Teddy Hall Creative Writing Group, an opportunity to meet students who share an interest in the creative arts from outside the College.
We have enjoyed organising a diverse range of sessions for the society. While we still made time for composition-focused sessions, such as sonnet-writing and blackout poetry (poetry formed from the redaction of a piece of prose), some of our most successful sessions involved creative re-interpretations of what the society could do. In Hilary, we hosted a popular murder mystery session, which entailed sneaking a code word into one’s composition that evaded the group’s notice. Also in Hilary, we were grateful to repeat last year’s successful collaboration with François Cloete (2022) for a performance of Messiaen’s Nativité du Seigneur. Poetry readings from members of the society and extracts from the scripture that inspired Messiaen accompanied François’ performance. Later in Hilary we collaborated with the 1980 Society and JCR Gender Equality Representative, writing poetry to commemorate International Women’s Day.
In Trinity, the society joined with the Merton History Society to welcome Theophilus Kwek (2013) and Nancy Campbell for an evening of discussion centred around relocations and Kwek’s latest book, Commonwealth. It was inspiring to see how a fellow Mertonian has pursued poetry as a career beyond university and to hear both Kwek and Campbell read excerpts from their published works. Also in Trinity, we were pleased to be involved in the highly anticipated revival of the Merton Arts Festival, inaugurating the week of events with readings of ‘(non)dramatic soliloquies’ in Chapel.
Each term culminated in the launch of the society’s pamphlet, Pekes and Pollicles, which was always a joy to collate. The quality of the pamphlets produced over the year is a testament to the talent and dedication of the society’s members, and we are grateful to everyone who made submissions and particularly to Florence Wolter (2022) for creating the pamphlets’ beautiful covers.
We are looking forward to handing on the mantle of presidency to Geo Maur-Batsaki (2024) and seeing the direction in which he takes the society next year.
Eryn Greenaway, Ishbel Hallam and Freddy Chelsom (all 2023) Poetry Society Co-Presidents 2024–25
The Merton College Poetry Society (MCPS) has had a productive year, holding weekly, themed meetings involving readings, structured workshops and writing activities. Each term concluded with the issue of a new wonderful edition of the society’s pamphlet Pekes and Pollicles, edited by Hannah Radley (2022) and designed by Florence Wolter (2022). The submissions this year from students both in college and abroad have been fantastic, and we cannot be more grateful and proud of what we as a society have produced.
In our first year co-running the society, myself, Flo and Hannah hoped to cultivate a warm environment for everyone to share their poetry. Some of the stand-out meetings this year included a blackout poetry workshop, blind artistic reproductions of ekphrastic poems, deep-diving into poetry in translation, and Frankenstein-ing new poems from old scraps with cut-and-paste poems. Other highlights included our termly Welfare crossover, which involved some poetry-related crafts activities, and the Merton Chapel crossover, a candlelit organ recital by François Cloete (2022) accompanied by readings by members of the society.
Co-running MCPS has been an absolute pleasure this year. The attendance and creativity we have seen from everyone in the society has been amazing to see, and we hope to see this flourish further next year. As it is our Finals, myself, Hannah and Florence will be passing the torch on to Ishbel Hallam, Freddie Chelsom and Eryn Greenaway (all 2023). We’re looking forward to seeing what they come up with next year!
A huge thank you to Florence and Hannah for being the absolute dream team, and best of luck to Ishbel, Freddy and Eryn, whom I have no doubt will be fantastic.
Joshua Carn (2020)
Poetry Society Co-President 2023–24
The year has been punctuated by some standout events. Particularly well loved was the Dungeons and Dragons session, as well as the Halloween meeting, both of which provided escapist experiences of poetic composition. Other staples were the collaborations with the Welfare Reps Shivanii Arun and Kieran DeWalt (both 2021), which offered relaxing evenings of poetry-themed arts and crafts. The third of these Welfare crossovers marked the first session hosted by the new leaders of the society, and was attended not only by Merton students but also by poetry enthusiasts from New and Pembroke colleges.
We have also produced more editions of the society pamphlet Pekes and Pollicles, which have been much appreciated.
As of Trinity 2023, we have handed over custody of the society to Florence Wolter, Joshua Carn and Hannah Radley (all 2022). We know that exciting collaborations are set to continue, not only with the fan-favourite welfare arts and crafts evenings, but with the new LGBTQ+ reps Grace Beglan and Emma Gracey (both 2022), and a poetry in translation night hosted collaboratively with the new Modern Languages subject president Dexter Angell (2022). That’s not to mention all the fresh new ideas to keep your poetic appetite satiated!
Hollie Goodwin and Nayah Thu (both 2020)
Poetry Society Co-Presidents 2022-23
It’s been another busy year for the Merton College Poetry Society. We kicked off the year with events in both Freshers’ and International Freshers’ Week, welcoming in a new group of regular attendees with one night of poetry in translation and a night of comic poetry. Our events throughout the term, from feminist poetry to poems themed around the environment, played a vital role in bringing together Merton’s new creative community during a term of increasing isolation.
With the sad news that we wouldn’t be able to return in Hilary, MCPS provided a comforting on-screen meeting place every week of the virtual term. In addition to themed reading nights (such as our Valentines’ Poetry evening or our incredibly well attended Pride Poetry event), we hosted several workshops to get the creative juices flowing. One workshop was a surrealist crossover with the JCR Art Society Rep, producing a mind-bending collaborative poem to feature in our pamphlet. We also conducted our first ever ‘Chain Storytelling Project’ where Mertonians from around the world took it in turns to add 100 words to a strange and fantastical short story entitled ‘Something was afoot in Fellows’ Garden …’
In Trinity, finally reunited in Oxford, MCPS was happy to host a number of summery events. We spent an evening revelling in the beauty of Shakespeare’s language, as well as collaborations with the Oxford University LGTBQ+ Soc for a university wide Pride Open Mic and the Merton Chalcenterics Classics Society for a university-wide Classics and Poetry Evening. We were also fortunate to be able to host our first in-person sessions since Hilary 2020, with an in-person night of poetry inspired by the College as part of Arts Week.
This year we produced three wonderful pamphlets, packed full of poetry, prose and art. In Michaelmas and Hilary, our virtual launch events were attended by in excess of 30 people across the world, and in Trinity, our first in-person launch party gathered 20 Mertonian poets in Fellows’ Garden. We express our great gratitude to all those who have trusted us with their work, and can’t wait to see what they produce next.
Luke Bateman and Rachel Jung (both 2019)
Poetry Society Co-Presidents 2020-21
This year Merton continued its reign as one of Oxford’s most poetic colleges. On a wider University level, Mertonians were prominent this year in the Oxford University Poetry Society, working on the committee, featuring in its termly publication Ash (which I enjoyed editing this year, and which I am delighted to be passing on to fellow Mertonian Sammy Moriarty (2016) next year), and being prizewinners in its competitions: Alexander Peplow (2013) was the winner of the annual Jon Stallworthy Poetry Prize for postgraduate students, and two out of the three shortlisted poets were from Merton MCR. This connection between Merton and OUPS was celebrated to great acclaim this year, when in both Hilary and Trinity terms Merton College Poetry Society hosted a large-scale performance event in the TS Eliot Theatre, attracting an audience from across the University and the city. The event, called ‘What we should have said’, travels across the UK, and features interconnected, semi-improvised poetry performances from eminent visiting poets led by actor and performance artist Stuart Silver. In Hilary, a pianist interwove music throughout the readings. Both terms, the evening was a unique experience and a great success, and MCPS was proud to have hosted it on our own turf.
Consistently throughout the year, Alex Peplow and I have maintained our more casual MCPS evenings, to give members of the College an opportunity to enjoy, discuss and showcase poetry (including their own) in a relaxed and friendly environment. We have had so many fun and hilarious evenings: our event for Merton Arts Week in the MCR was a highlight, as was our recent Juvenilia Night, during which we read poems that we had dredged up from our childhood and adolescent notebooks. These evenings offer an opportunity to make friends across the divides of subject and year group. Some of our most regular attendees are scientists, and we often celebrate this through the themes that we choose: this year, for example, we have had poetry evenings tailored to the topics of ‘Birds’ and ‘Science’. Our discussions around the poems we choose to share are often interdisciplinary, frequently enlightening, and always enjoyable. Next year, we hope to recruit more committee members, and to continue incorporating new events into our routine.
Molly Clark (2014)
Poetry Society Co-President 2017-18