Profile of Katie Blatter

Katie Blatter, a Catholic University aluma and this year’s O’Hagan Poetry Prize Winner, has been “writing for about just as long as [she’s] been thinking.” Inspired by authors like Wordsworth, Barrett Browning, and Wilde, she aims to write with “the biggest impact and the smallest word count possible.” Her “Opossum Poem,” published in Vermilion’s Winter 2021 issue, was originally written for a creative writing class. Sitting at the fountain in Centennial Village, she wrote the original draft in less than an hour. She struggled most with meter and rhyme scheme and found it hard to detach herself from the language she used originally. However, after edits, which are “always substantial,” she was able to write a playful poem that excels in tone and language. When asked what advice she’d like to give to other writers, Katie said, “find a community to write in… I took Professor Wilson's creative writing class not only to learn how to craft a poem but also to get feedback on my poetry. I think that getting another perspective on your work is essential because there are always flaws that you don't catch, and another person can help you see whether your ideas are coming across in the way that you intended.” 

Make sure to read "Opossum Poem" in Vermilion's first edition, out December 1, 2021.