This feature was conceived as a foray into the hearts/minds of Kenyon’s finest artists and writers through the pages of their sketchbooks. This week, we talk with Emma Palley ’20, Kenyon’s premier cheese poet.  

 

How long have you been writing poetry and when did the cheese poems in particular start?

The cheese poems are actually what sparked the poetry writing, which I’ve only been doing for about a year. The cheese poems in particular began after my dad sent me a link to this website called The Cheese Impresario, which has a section devoted to poetry about cheese. I thought this was really funny, so I decided to write a collection of my own. I have branched out some since then, because honestly there’s only so much I can write about cheese, but it was definitely a good starting place. 

How/when does inspiration strike you?

I’d say a good 60% of my poems are written in the pasta line, in the notes app on my phone. A lot of the time I’ll write a poem because I thought of a good rhyme that I want to use. I’ll write a poem to procrastinate, or for a friend if they’re having a rough day.

On average, how long does it take for you to write a poem?

5-10 minutes.

Do you write mainly for yourself or do you enjoy sharing your work?

I definitely enjoy sharing my work. None of the poetry I write is personal, and it’s all just for laughs, so I’ll always share with my friends if I write one that I think is funny.

What is your favorite type of cheese to eat and/or to write about?

Nothing too crazy, but I like a good cheddar.

 

Included below are three poems from Emma Palley’s collection.

 

Fate

You spot it on the floor—

There it sits, lonely, abandoned,

In the musty corner of the kitchen

You thought you knew so well.

 

The cold tiles press against your

Feet, fueling your walk across

The floor, towards your destiny—

For what will it be? Cheddar, or brie?

 

You stoop down, feeling the weight

Of the world press heavily on

Your shoulders. You reach out,

Grasp the warm weight of the cheese

 

In your hands—and feel whole once again.

The warmth sweeps through the kitchen.

You breathe easily once again.

You’ve found the missing piece.

 

When Cheddar Comes

The holes in the swiss,

Caverns in the sea—

Like a leaf, falling from a tree,

Your cheese, falls directly to

Me. But alas—Cheddar

Comes along, just as spring

Turns to summer. It’s newer,

Brighter, flashier. But it’s still

The same old cheese.

 

The Cheese

Like a goat, this cheese

Has bells that calls it

To you. Smooth, like the

Smooth ER, it makes you

Feel whole again. It transports

You to a land with

No worries, only cheese:

Cheese, cheese, cheese.

 

Because what is life if not

Cheesy? What is one’s heart

If not goaty? For what is MY soul

Without the transient feelings

Brought to me by a cheese—

A block, a slice, a crumble, a morsel of

Goodness.

 

Cheese.