Under one of the bridges on Baylor’s campus (a bridge that for the sake of secrecy must remain unnamed) a group of students gathers long after dark to read aloud poetry. Since the group, Baylor’s very own secret poets society, meets sporadically and follows no set schedule, it is impossible to find them — unless you know one of them.
By the light of a flashlight, they take turns reading aloud poems — ones they love or ones they’ve written. They don’t critique or discuss but only offer snaps of appreciation in response.
Admission to the event is by invitation only, but everyone is welcome. In other words, if you can figure out when and where, you’re in.
At Baylor, a university where the most popular majors fall within the sciences and business, creatively minded students often find themselves drawn to one another. While Baylor’s secret poets society is one of many informal gathering spaces for these students, The Phoenix, a student-run literary magazine which has been in operation for over 65 years, offers a more official outlet for student voices.
Piya Patel, Baylor alumna and former editor-in-chief of The Phoenix, said being on staff is like being part of “one big friend group.” Most students who find the magazine do so through word of mouth, with friends encouraging one another to submit work or join the editorial team. As a result, most participants know each other beyond their work at the magazine, blending creative collaboration with genuine friendship.
Mary Dickinson became assistant poetry editor at The Phoenix after friends on the team encouraged her to apply.
“It seems to be the kind of thing that lots of people know exists, but you only get involved with it if you have some sort of personal connection,” she said.
While members of The Phoenix put up posters all across campus and have a social media presence, they find that most people who end up at the magazine are there because someone invited them.
“When I was recruiting last year, I noticed that all the people who applied seemed to be friends with each other already,” Patel said.
That close-knit recruiting style reflects something broader about the magazine’s appeal. For many students — whether English majors or not — The Phoenix offers a rare, creative, and collaborative outlet.
Patel is a case in point. A business major in the Center for Professional Selling, she started writing her current novel in high school, and The Phoenix gave her an outlet and community of like-minded people.
But balancing being a student with being a writer can be difficult. During her undergraduate career, Patel found gaps in her busy college schedule to work on her own short stories and novel.
“I think that’s almost better because I write better under pressure,” Patel said. She tracked her daily word count targets with a digital writing productivity tool and squeezed writing into every spare 20 minutes.
Senior Annalise Shero, another assistant poetry editor at The Phoenix, has also been challenged by the balance.
“I can’t just wait for the whimsy to strike me,” she said.
Rather than sit around and wait for inspiration, she has found ways to integrate her creative passions into her coursework. She is in the middle of rehearsals for a musical she wrote centered on Greek mythology, which she’ll perform for an audience at the end of the semester. It doubles as her honors thesis.
To prioritize writing as students, many have special places on campus or in Waco where they retreat to, away from the noise and chaos of university life.
“I’ll just put away all of my things and sit outside … It’s almost like meditation, but it’s a little bit more external. I’m just trying to notice things around me and hear how quiet it is, or notice what sounds are around me. I don’t have anything in my hands at that moment, not even a pen or my phone,” Shero said. “After maybe 10 minutes of that, my hands get itchy, and I have to write something.”
“I weirdly like small and closed spaces, like a little creature, that are kind of dark,” said Patel, whose go-to writing spot was the cubicles on the second floor of the Jesse Jones Library.
That kind of devotion to the craft and the balance between writing and other responsibilities was nothing new for students like Patel and Shero. Many can trace their creative impulse back to childhood.
“I was the most embarrassing kid you probably could have been friends with,” Patel said. “I carried around these giant … notebooks. I wrote in them every day, and then I would read them out loud to people.”
“I wrote my first poem that my parents can remember when I was three. It was a four-line masterpiece,” said Dickinson with laughter.
Turning that childhood love of words into a college plan wasn’t as simple as it sounds. Dickinson had not initially considered Baylor for her education — on paper, it was not an obvious fit.
“When I was little, I had a really strong prejudice against Baylor because in my fourth-grade class, there were these two guys … [who were] always talking about Baylor football,” Dickinson said. “I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, Baylor is this stupid sports school.’”
However, as many of them began to explore the unique opportunities, they started to see Baylor as a place where they could belong and find the community they were looking for.
“I hadn’t really had friends who were able to talk to me about books and things in that way,” Dickinson said.
Patel echoed that sentiment, though for her, the appeal went beyond finding like-minded peers — it was about finding a place that wouldn’t compromise the writer she already was.
“I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about people who go to creative arts colleges and have their spirit stamped out of them,” Patel said. “I think it’s better to figure myself out … somewhere where people are kind to me and somewhere that feels a little bit like a second home.”
Patel published three short stories in literary magazines as an undergraduate student, in addition to her work in The Phoenix. She continues to work on her novel, hoping to finish before her next birthday and begin querying literary agents.
But alongside working on her writing, Patel is also starting a full-time job in corporate America this July. Like most students, she recognizes that pursuing a career in the arts comes with risks.
“The good thing is most authors have day jobs,” Patel said.
“I would love for writing to be the foundation of my life,” Shero, who is thinking ahead as she prepares to graduate this semester, said. “I know that financially, that’s a hard ask. So I’m happy to have a day job … But my goal is to be a writer in practice and identity.”
But for each of these students, their connection to writing is a part of who they are — whether or not it is what they are studying or what they plan to make a living doing.
“I can’t separate my identity from my creativity,” Patel said. “I don’t really know who I’d be without that piece also being there.”
Whether it is reading poetry under a secret bridge or submitting short stories to The Phoenix, these Baylor poets and writers have built a community that values intentional friendship and artistic growth within Baylor’s every-busy culture — you just have to slow down long enough to know where to find them.
