Engel displays selection of published pieces

Laura Eve Engel, poet and author of “32 Fantasy Football Teams,” which was published in Best American Poetry 2016, presented a selection of her poems in Olin Teaching Theater Wednesday, Sept. 18.  

Raised in Virginia, Engel now resides in Brooklyn, New York and has received fellowships from the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing and Tent: Encounters with Jewish Culture. She teaches at Brooklyn Poets, a nonprofit dedicated to training poets and preserving Brooklyn’s poetic history, vital to the establishment of American poetry as a unique subgenre. Engel also composed half of The Old Year, an American band that produces dark pop songs and performed at FR8yard on June 30. 

On the evening of Engel’s reading, every seat was filled, with students lining the stairs on each side of the Olin Teaching Theater.  

Dr. Patrick Whitfill, Professor of English at Wofford, took the stage to introduce the distinguished guest to the audience. Engel then read from her recently published book, Things That Go, and shared her love for the art of poetry.

As she introduced and read her poems, she demonstrated her background in university-level teaching by providing context for each piece. Before reading her poem, “Home on the Range,” which evaluates the personality of the American West, Engel shared her fascination with the region and interpretation of its important features. 

During an interview after the reading, Engel commented on the value of reading and writing poetry as a Wofford student, even those without pronounced enjoyment of fine arts. She alluded to the value of poetry as a vessel for reflection on life and culture, saying, “Poetry is a wonderful space to explore things you’re uncertain of and to really figure things out because you don’t have to have an answer.”  

Pointing to a poetic relief from Wofford’s incessant planning-pressure, Engel added, “It’s better if you don’t.”