Though Monish Shah might spend his class time crunching numbers as an engineering student, he spends his out-of-class time enjoying a creative outlet that is a little unorthodox for his major.

"In 10th grade I started writing poetry and my teachers said I was pretty good," Shah (junior-engineering sciences) said. "I've enjoyed writing ever since."

A new opportunity, called the Poet's Forum, has opened up on campus especially for poets who want to learn more about their craft. It allows people like Shah, who might not be able to fit in a poetry class into their schedule, to interact and share with other writers.

"The reason I started the group is to find others like myself who write poetry so we could learn from each other and experiment with different styles of poetry," said club founder and president Jonathan Makela (junior-English).

The Poet's Forum is not yet an official group and is struggling to gain popularity among students, but Makela has high hopes for workshops and discussion. "I think it's better for a group to start out small. You can watch it grow," he said.

Makela, who draws his inspiration from poets like Bob Dylan, T.S. Eliot and Emily Dickinson, said he wants the club to go beyond café-style poetry readings. At the last meeting, members began by discussing the style and meaning of Bob Dylan's song "Blowin' in the Wind." Each member offered a different interpretation.

Makela said poetry can be an effective creative outlet for expressing thoughts and feelings. "It's an interesting entry into people's brains," faculty adviser Camille-Yvette Welsch said, adding that poetry is an opportunity for growth beyond the academic setting.

"It prepares students to have an intellectual life beyond college," she said. "It's only recently that poets have been able to live on published poetry and teaching poetry."

Club member Kylie Lucchesi (sophomore-philosophy) said she thinks the forum is a great way to incorporate people who are not planning to make a career in literature or the liberal arts.

"People from liberal arts to engineering will find this interesting," she said.

"I think a lot of people are interested in expressing themselves and want to come together to share."

Shah shares Lucchesi's view and sees the forum as a chance to get criticism from other poets. "Joining this club is a way for me to try out my poems on other people," he said.

Makela said most people have hopes of being published, and this provides an opportunity to improve on writing and explore different techniques.

During the meeting, Welsch led the group in a writing exercise that involved rewriting a translated Japanese poem. Members hesitantly shared their ideas.

"It's a personal thing to put ideas out there and get feedback. It's a scary process, but [the Forum] provides a safe place to begin," she said.

Welsch said sharing personal poems and being open to constructive criticism results in more than just literary growth. She said she has fond memories as a member of a similar group during school. "The friends that I made in workshop are the friends that I kept," she said.

The Poet's Forum meets from 8 to 9 p.m. every first and third Wednesday at Webster's Bookstore Café, 128 S. Allen St.