Current English instructor Staci Schoenfeld shares two poetry collections

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Staci Schoenfeld once honed her writing in Dr. Richard Taylor’s English classes at Kentucky State University. Years later, the teacher and his former student met at Frankfort’s Gathering of Authors as fellow poets, each with books to share.

Schoenfeld, a 2010 graduate who now teaches English at Kentucky State, joined writers from across Kentucky at the Aug. 22 event at Paul Sawyier Public Library to share her poetry and meet readers.

“I was so excited to be one of the authors at an event I’ve attended many times over the years,” Schoenfeld said.

Participating alongside Dr. Taylor, a former Kentucky poet laureate, also gave her a chance to reflect on the influence of his teaching.

“He was very influential in building my skills as a writer in the many classes I took with him as a student,” she said. “It’s always great to see him and to read his work.”

Those student years helped prepare Schoenfeld for a writing career under the pen name Avery Guess. She received a Creative Writing Fellowship in Poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2015, and her published work explores experiences of trauma, mental illness, and survival.

At the gathering, she featured her debut full-length poetry collection, The Truth Is, published in 2019 by Black Lawrence Press, and her shorter collection, The Patient Admits, published in 2017 by dancing girl press.

Meeting readers in Frankfort also gave Schoenfeld an opportunity she had missed when The Truth Is first appeared. She was living in South Dakota and preparing to move back to Kentucky when the collection was released. The move, followed by the pandemic, limited her opportunities to promote it in person.

“I had a great time catching up with folks I know and meeting new readers throughout the day,” she said. “This opportunity definitely made up for that. It was an honor to be included.”

Schoenfeld’s participation as both an alumna and instructor drew praise from Dr. Shannon Brogan, acting chair of Kentucky State’s School of Humanities.

“It was especially meaningful to see one of our own Kentucky State University alumni return to the Frankfort literary community as an accomplished author and educator,” Dr. Brogan said. “We are proud to celebrate her accomplishments and the voice she continues to bring to Kentucky’s literary community.”