English major Geoff Munsterman is passionate about poetry. So passionate, in fact, that he writes a new poem every day. The dedication has paid off: two literary journals and a literary Web site have published five of his poems.

Munsterman's publishing success started when he submitted three of his poems to a contest sponsored by Margie: The American Journal of Poetry. Earning a semifinalist nod, he later received word that two of his pieces, "Winter Night" and "For the Popes I Murdered," would be printed in Margie's annual issue. "I was thrilled and pretty surprised," says Munsterman. "I had entered the contest just hoping to get published, so I felt like I had won the lottery when I learned they had selected two."

He also has two poems, "French Fries and Eggs" and "The Lightning Field," published online at www.storysouth.com, a Web journal for southern writers. A fifth poem will be published inYAWP, a New Orleans poetry journal.

Interested in poetry since high school, Munsterman decided to attend Kenyon after reading a poem by celebrated poet and Kenyon alumnus James Wright. "It blew me away," Munsterman says. Many of his classes at Kenyon, including "Introduction to Poetry Writing" and "Poetry Manuscript Preparation," have shaped his skills, and he credits Robert P. Hubbard Professor of Poetry Janet McAdams for introducing him to StorySouth.

It's Munsterman's life experiences that inspire his poetry. Some poems grew out of the experience of watching his once small and rural hometown outside of New Orleans, Louisiana, mushroom into a sprawling urban area. Others reflect the tragedy of losing his father to a heart condition. "Writing helps," he says. "Poetry is something I always want to do."