Luis Mendez ’23

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At Strake Jesuit, we know about the wide variety of clubs to join on campus. One of our clubs for students with an interest in writing is Inkwell. 

“Inkwell is the catch all phrase for our creative writing club and our publication, Strake Jesuit’s student literary magazine,” said Mrs. Clinton, who is the faculty co-advisor to Inkwell, along with Mrs. Sheara, the school librarian. 

The club consists of about 30 students, but fewer than 10 typically gather at any given meeting, allowing each writer to get the personalized attention they need to get meaningful feedback on their writing. 

However, Inkwell is not just about having set writing projects and working on them. Meetings are also based around playing fun writing games to work on skills for stylistic improvement. 

Guest-speakers are also part of the club’s programming. This year, on October 14 during Community Time in Room 826, Dr. Matthew Boyleston, director of the Masters in Fine Arts program in Creative Writing at nearby Houston Baptist University, will be giving a workshop and interacting directly with students and their work. 

How do students select a creative writing piece to work on for Inkwell? “It’s different every year based on what the members want,” Mrs. Clinton said. “Students are able to bring their own writing at any time, and we will make time to work on those pieces. Sometimes we give prompts to collaborate with our school photographers, artists, and musicians. Artists and writers will write in response to a piece and continue that chain of creativity.”

Inkwell is all about improving writing, having fun, and collaborating with other creatives. The club provides a low-pressure environment with flexible deadlines. Ultimately, Inkwell is about showing more students that they can also be creative. 

“We are here to capture the creative voice of our community, and I think people often don’t realize that they have a creative voice,” Mrs. Clinton said. “I think what the club is doing is exciting, and I hope new members will feel comfortable and welcome to come and just have fun and participate. You don’t have to consider yourself a writer to be a member of Inkwell.”