{"id":9819,"date":"2025-03-05T21:47:27","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T21:47:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/?page_id=9819"},"modified":"2025-03-05T21:47:28","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T21:47:28","slug":"words-in-the-wild-with-gavia-boyden-26","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/home-2\/the-words-february-2025\/words-in-the-wild-with-gavia-boyden-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Words in the Wild with Gavia Boyden ’26"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peyton Williamson ’27<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Gavia<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For this edition of Craft Corner<\/em>, The Words<\/em> took a new turn with Words in the Wild<\/em>, where we\u2019ll be featuring English students doing cool work outside of the English department and Macalester. This time we sat down with Gavia Boyden \u201926, who has found a unique way to share her poetry with the world: Instagram. What started as a personal project has become a platform for her to connect with other poets and readers, all while staying true to her artistic vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gavia\u2019s journey into writing poetry began when she was just 10 years old, after she \u201cread and loved Mary Oliver\u2019s poem \u2018Wild Geese,\u2019\u201d she shares. Since then, poetry has been a form of expression she can\u2019t leave behind, and it\u2019s clear that her passion for the art runs deep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Describing her style as precise and metaphor-heavy, Gavia gravitates toward what is unsaid in poetry. \u201cI appreciate leaving things withheld or just beyond reach so that the idea lingers in the reader\u2019s mind,\u201d she says. \u201cI like to draw unusual parallels between ideas, keeping my language choice as sparse as possible.\u201d Her work draws inspiration from poets like her own mother, Jennifer Oakes, as well as from contemporary poets like Terrance Hayes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Gavia\u2019s writing had always been a personal endeavor, it wasn\u2019t until recently that she considered sharing it with a broader audience. \u201cI think Instagram is a really accessible platform for something that a lot of people find inaccessible\u2014the poetic,\u201d Gavia explains. \u201cBy posting on Instagram, I hope that I\u2019m opening a new door to poetry, bringing the poetic into everyday life.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her intention wasn\u2019t necessarily to reach an existing poetry audience, but rather to share the art form with those who might not otherwise encounter it.Though her Instagram has grown into a space for her poetry, Gavia emphasizes that her writing isn\u2019t influenced by the platform itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t write with Instagram in mind as the final destination,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t like the idea of writing differently because my work will have an audience.\u201d That said, she enjoys following other poets on the app and being a part of their creative community. \u201cAlmost every day I encounter great language on another poet\u2019s Instagram.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for her writing process, Gavia reveals that she thrives in a specific atmosphere. \u201cI write best when I\u2019m listening to really sad music (like Frank Ocean\u2019s Self Control<\/em>),\u201d she confesses. \u201cPreferably at night. I don\u2019t think it makes me sad, or makes the poems sad, but it does allow me to access a part of my mind that isn\u2019t active when I\u2019m moving fast-paced through my day.\u201d This sense of quiet introspection allows her to tap into the yearning tone that permeates much of her work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, sharing poetry online comes with its challenges. Gavia admits to receiving occasional messages questioning her work, such as \u201cthis didn\u2019t make sense to me\u201d or \u201care you okay?\u201d These responses don\u2019t discourage her, though. \u201cI can\u2019t really say anything other than \u2018okay\u2019 or \u2018yes,\u2019\u201d she responds, taking it in stride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most rewarding part of her Instagram journey has been personal growth, which marked a turning point in embracing her identity as a poet. \u201cI used to think it was stupid to write poetry,\u201d Gavia shares. \u201cI was scared that my peers would see my work and think I was cringy or weird or bad at writing. I am so happy that I embrace my poet side now instead of thinking of it as something to brush aside or make fun of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking to the future, Gavia has big plans for her poetry. \u201cMy New Year\u2019s resolution was actually to get published more and to publish a short chapbook,\u201d she says. She\u2019s already seen success in that area, having been accepted to The Tower<\/em> and published in Alchemy Journal<\/em> and Rattle<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for Gavia, the goal isn\u2019t just to have her work seen\u2014it\u2019s about revitalizing a love for poetry in others. \u201cBeing published is a goal of mine not because I want people to love my poetry specifically, but because I want people to start caring about poetry in general,\u201d she explains. \u201cIn my mind, being published represents a tiny win in the right direction. It\u2019s a chance for people to read a poem and maybe feel something and remember that feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many thanks to Gavia for taking the time to share this with us; The Words<\/em> is excited to see where her poetic journey takes her. Her courage to share her art and her dedication to making poetry more accessible is truly inspiring and we can\u2019t wait to see how her voice continues to grow!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Peyton Williamson ’27 For this edition of Craft Corner, The Words took a new turn with Words in the Wild, where we\u2019ll be featuring English students doing cool work outside of the English department and Macalester. This time we sat down with Gavia Boyden \u201926, who has found a unique way to share her poetry […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1049,"featured_media":0,"parent":9647,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9819","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1049"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9819"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10011,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9819\/revisions\/10011"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/the-words\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}