Welcome to StoriesEtc, a place where University of Wisconsin students can share their original works of creative writing with the community, whether it be poetry, short stories or anything in between. As a section dealing with the arts, it feels only natural to create an opportunity for students to share their creative talents.
With that being said, let’s meet this week’s contributor, and The Badger Herald’s ArtsEtc. Editor: Celeste Benzschawel.
The Badger Herald: Tell us about yourself. What’s your major? Year in school?
This is my junior year at UW, and I am majoring in journalism. This is also my second semester as an ArtsEtc. editor, and my fourth semester as a writer at The Badger Herald. I take pride in being part of a local dad-chic indie rock band, as well as my impressive British accent.
BH: Define your writing, authorship and perspective.
The characteristics of my writing tend to depend on the outlet I am writing for. With The Badger Herald, it is my absolute favorite thing to converse with musicians, construct their story into a narrative and then share their themes and messages with the world. When writing for myself, I tend to let go a little bit; silliness and sarcasm are some of my favorite writing techniques. But no matter what the writing is for or what it’s about, I hope to project a voice that reflects who I am as a person without detracting from the piece’s ultimate message.
BH: When did you start writing creatively?
I started writing creatively when I was in elementary school. I had a notebook dedicated to short, fantastical stories about unicorns, dragons and who knows what else. My writing really took fire in high school, though. I submitted poetry to a local contest for three years, and I also began keeping journals freshman year. Since then I have stuffed 11, going on 12, “books” full of dreams, lists, “Brain Dumps” (an entry of my own invention), poems, songs, photos, clips, ticket stubs, etc.
BH: Talk about your creative process. What inspires you, and how do you get from an idea to a finished product?
My creative process mostly consists of me either writing lists of ideas or just starting something without even planning what it will be or what it will be about. I guess you can say I just let my mind run wild and my hands follow suit. I’ve often found that I get a lot of inspiration from listening to music while I write, especially when writing poetry. I like to let the tone and feeling of the song sink in, and then I try to translate that mood into the piece that I am writing. Aside from applying seriousness and care to academic pieces or newspaper articles (because I am a responsible, reliable, mature adult), I might dabble in a few alcoholic beverages to free the mind.
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Here is a sample of Celeste’s work:
“Desert Dream”
I got lost in desert dreams
In nights darker than ever seen
I got lost in dusty cracks
I just got lost, no coming back
In Utah nights, Utopian nights
I felt it for a moment, swallowing sights
Fleeting, bleeding, freeing sights
In jarring, starry, bleeding nights
Feeling bleeding from me
Like never before
Over layered rocks, on desert floors
Came out of my feet
Came out of my hands
Came out of my heart
And out of my glands
Feeling from beauty
Feeling from awe
So much feeling, you can’t feel at all
And I just don’t know
How it is it could be
That it’s partly you
Giving this feeling to me
I felt you in each step
I felt you deep in the sand
I felt you in each bush
That brushed against my hand
And I became the mountain
And you the wind
Chipping away at me
But not quite getting in
Trying to unravel, unveil, unreel
Yet never getting close to knowing how I feel
To know me, learn me, feel me
To hold me, love me, steal me
To be the star in my desert sky
To be the breath of my desert high
And the wind is warm
Against naked skin
It whispers, “When do I get to see you again?”
And all you can do is let it take you
Push you, break you, snake you, make you
It pushes you through its desert maze
It weaves you through its dusty haze
And all you want to do is FUCKING SCREAM!
What does it want?! What does it mean?!
And you feel those feelings
Bleed again,
Dripping, oozing, freed again
Yet you itch for it
Its taste is sweet
It saves you from that desert heat
And yet, deep down, you know
you can’t follow
And the pain from that is hard to swallow
Because the wind is quick
It’s quick to go
Its destination
You will never know
And then you realize
The feeling is real
That desert feeling
Is so hard to feel
And you disappear
Into desert skies
Cause its easier than saying goodbye
And in the end, that’s all you can say
Cause in desert wind
Love’s blown away
