“Trinity Hosts CT Poetry Circuit, Student Gemma Feltovich ‘25 Among the Selected”

Hannah Smith ’26

Arts & Entertainment Executive Editor

On Feb. 18, Trinity hosted students from across Connecticut who were selected by the Connecticut Poetry Circuit to present their work to various universities across the state. Those selected include Jonah Barton (Wesleyan University), Maisie Bilston (Yale University), Charlotte Ungar (University of Connecticut), Elliot Wilson (Quinnipiac) and Trinity’s own Gemma Feltovich ‘25.

Feltovich is a senior English major with a concentration in creative writing. She’s currently working on her thesis, a collection of poems, but that wasn’t always her plan. Feltovich stated, “The English Department faculty is amazing and so incredibly supportive. I only really got into writing poetry after taking Intro to Creative Writing with Professor Clare Rossini, and I was actually doing the English major with a literature concentration until last semester, when I suddenly realized I wanted to do a creative writing thesis.” Feltovich didn’t know about her passion for poetry until she arrived at Trinity and had very little experience writing poetry. She said,  “I was always a creative kid, but it didn’t manifest into poetry until high school, and even then it was only a few little poems in my notes app that I didn’t do anything with. It was only when I got to college that I started thinking about it more seriously.”

Feltovich’s poetry has never been about one specific thing. She writes about family, nature, dead animals, weird fairy tale creatures and so much more. Among her favorite poems that she shares along the circuit is “My Mom’s Nipple Tats,” a poem she describes as being about her mother’s battle with breast cancer, but mostly about how cool she is. When asked what it’s been like writing about her mother and sharing her work, she replied, “Kind of odd, I guess, because it’s really personal at the same time as it’s relatable to a lot of people. The specifics are there, but it’s also mostly about that sometimes complicated love that most people feel for their mother. She’s such a big part of my life and the way I think and process the world that it would be strange not to write about her, honestly.”

When asked what it’s like presenting her work alongside other poets who are also undergraduate students, Feltovich replied, “It’s really inspiring and energizing to be around people who are so passionate about the same thing, and I feel more connected now with other colleges outside of just Trinity.” However, she isn’t unfamiliar with support systems like this. “I just want to emphasize how grateful I am to all my friends and mentors in the English Department for always supporting me. Shoutout to the poetry thesis gang, Reese San Diego [’25], Maggie Ondrey [’25] and Allie Mikalatos [’25]; they’re incredible poets and people, and I love them lots.”

The Connecticut Poetry Circuit is filled with talented poets from across the state and every one of them has something unique and special to say. The circuit already stopped at Quinnipiac on Feb. 27, but there are still presentations taking place at Wesleyan on March 5, UConn on March 27 and Yale on April 24.