Alisa Mejia selected as a Connecticut Student Poet

HAMDEN - Quinnipiac University student Alisa Mejia has been selected as a Connecticut Student Poet by the 2022-23 Connecticut Poetry Circuit panel.

Mejia, a senior psychology major from the Bronx, New York, was one of five poets chosen.
“Being selected is something I can hardly put into words,” Mejia said. “I am always pretty self-critical when it comes to my work and am constantly revising my pieces and, to be quite honest, I never thought I would be able to go up against such talented poets. When I found out I had been selected, I was honestly in complete disbelief, I could not believe that my work was actually good enough to be selected. The biggest thing that this has done for me is reinforce my passion for poetry.”

Each year, the Connecticut Poetry Circuit enlists a panel of poets to judge a statewide contest of college-student poets. Five student poets are selected to tour the circuit each spring. The winning Connecticut Student Poets read their work at a number of universities and events.
Mejia, a member of the volleyball team at Quinnipiac, said Jason Koo, associate teaching professor of English, and JT Torres, assistant teaching professor of English and director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, were instrumental in her success.

“I had a period of time where I stopped writing because I was struggling to express the things I have been going through on paper, but being selected for this reminded me how important it is for me to keep pushing myself, and to keep writing,” Mejia added. “I am just filled with so much gratitude to Jason and JT for their belief in me, and proud of myself for being able to be vulnerable on paper and now having this wonderful opportunity to represent our university.”
Torres said he met Mejia when she was a first-year student interested in writing about religion, identity and culture.

“I remember reading her work for the first time and noticing this keen insight for human complexity, contradiction and beauty,” Torres recalled. “It was apparent that she had a deep awareness most people never develop. And then one day she emailed me her poetry and I knew QU had someone special. Her love of language, sound and image empowered her from the start to explore the depths of lived experiences.”

Mejia’s selection marks the third consecutive year and fourth in the last six years that a Quinnipiac student has been named one of the winners of the Connecticut contest.

"Alisa Mejia is one of the brightest, most talented and most passionate students I have had the privilege to work with, “Ko said “ I am so glad JT connected us. From the beginning of our work together, she impressed me most not with her talent, but with her eagerness to learn and improve her craft. After I sent her first poem back with feedback, I was surprised to see an email from her within the hour with a revision attached. I think that's the first time I've seen that in 23 years of teaching."

The Connecticut Poetry Circuit was established in 1968 to continue the work of the New England Poetry Circuit, which was founded in 1964 by the Academy of American Poets and Holly Stevens, daughter of the acclaimed poet and Hartford insurance executive Wallace Stevens.