Artist Spotlight: Graduating Senior CJ Case

Photo provided by poet

By Ingrid Ibarra

CJ Case is a senior at CCNY currently studying Public Relations and Advertising with minors in Black Studies and Creative Writing. They are also currently the president of the Black Student Union at CCNY.  CJ has been writing poetry since they can remember. “Poetry is an outlet for me, people view me as a bubbly and outgoing person because I’m active on campus,” they say, “I feel the opposite of that inside, and poetry helps me express that. They submitted their poem "Prey" to The Paper’s Instagram page and sat down for an interview to talk about their poetry and their relationship to it.

CJ likes writing their poetry through an eerie, sad perspective on how they perceive the world. In the poem they submitted for The Paper, “Prey,” the work provides an intriguing take on unrequited love. The poem is told through the eyes of a predator yearning for a prey-type figure whom they finally realize at the end they can’t have. They mentioned that when writing this poem, they were inspired by Joe’s character from the popular Netflix show, You.

"Prey" by CJ Case

When asked if they would consider themselves a poet, CJ replied, “Of course!” This confidence stems from high school, where they had to share some of their work in one class. The validation received from their teacher and peers reassured them that what they were doing in their free time was actually good. They were finally able to put a name to their hobby: poetry. Their mom was also very supportive of CJ, assuring them that their writing was good. Since then, CJ decided to join poetry events and competitions outside of school. Later on in college, still writing poetry in their free time, they realized they didn’t actually know much about poetry outside of their own writing, so CJ decided to minor in creative writing to expand their knowledge. That's where they were introduced to famous poets such as Langston Hughes and began reading their peers’ work as well. 

When asked if she had any specific inspirations or idols in the genre, they replied that even though they enjoy reading others’ poetry, their biggest inspiration always came from within, and they keep themselves inspired through life experiences. Although they aren’t planning on becoming a poet professionally, it doesn’t seem like CJ will be giving up their poetry writing any time soon because, as they say, “poetry means being able to express [themselves] and [their] emotions.” As CJ is preparing to graduate this spring, they want to make sure the Black Student Union is left in good hands, so if you’re interested, please join!