UK hosts Kentucky Poet Laureate for creative writing workshop

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 25, 2026) — At the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE), there’s a new initiative, Growing Graduates from the Ground Up (G3U), in which both students and instructors partner to help innovate new learning experiences in the classroom.

Students in G3U, part of the Faculty Initiatives in Education, Learning and Discovery (FIELD) program and one of The Bill Gatton Foundation Grand Challenges, recently had the unique opportunity to participate in an innovative learning experience with Kentucky Poet Laureate Kathleen Driskell to enhance their creative thinking, problem-solving, leadership development and communication skills.

Lou Hirsch, Ph.D., one of The Bill Gatton Foundation Early-Career Professors and inaugural director of FIELD, believes that teachers and students working together, while experiencing different educational environments, enhances both learning outcomes and adopting new innovative teaching best practices.

“FIELD supports our faculty and instructors in developing innovative teaching methods, with a focus on enhancing student learning through discovery-based approaches and modern pedagogical tools,” Hirsch said. “These initiatives involve instructors collaborating with our students to utilize proven techniques like inquiry-based learning, case studies and simulations to promote student engagement, critical thinking and skill development that will help students in their future careers.”

Creative writing workshop

In the course titled Special Topics in Agriculture, Food and Environment, G3U students serve as curriculum consultants and work with other UK instructors to improve and innovate teaching in Martin-Gatton CAFE courses. Hirsch believes that exposing students and instructors to new experiences, and reflecting on what made those moments memorable, is one of the best ways to inspire curricular change — inviting Driskell to facilitate a creative writing workshop for the G3U program.

Driskell, a professor of creative writing and chair of the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University, emphasized her belief that creative writing is one of the most important courses that students can take.

“Human beings are meant to tell stories,” Driskell said. “Everything about you comes through stories — it’s inherent in our actual being. This is not just about creative writing; this is about solving life’s problems and navigating the world.”

To begin the workshop, Driskell shared a story about the very first poem she ever wrote. The poem, which Driskell wrote when she was in third grade, centered on her feelings about her uncle fighting in the Vietnam War and hopefully returning home.

Her third grade teacher took note of that poem and brought it to the school principal’s attention. The principal asked Driskell to read the poem over the loudspeaker as part of the morning announcements.

Even at that young age, Driskell knew that storytelling played an important role in learning and that her path was about to be redefined.

“Poems can’t solve problems, but they can help us process,” Driskell told the G3U students. “Reading that poem this many years later, I know that I loved my uncle because I wrote a poem about him — that’s what creative writing does.”

Driskell asked the students to participate in archetypal imagery, a memory writing exercise that is designed to unlock first-time personal memories and emotions by connecting with symbols and patterns.

For UK student Sarah Johnson, a senior studying agricultural ecosystem sciences at Martin-Gatton CAFE, Driskell’s workshop changed her previous perceptions of creating writing.

“I always perceived creative writing as an overwhelming concept,” Johnson said. “I often thought it was just for those who were artistic and great writers, but this workshop really opened my eyes. Creative writing isn't necessarily about being the most creative or innovative; it’s about taking the time to relish in detail and being authentic, genuine in your writing.”

Driskell taught the students that creative writing opens many possibilities. 

“Students learn how to think, solve problems and explore with creative writing,” Driskell said “If you can write creatively, more will open up to you. Stories can change the world.”

Classroom innovation

For Hirsch, the hope is that Driskell’s workshop can help G3U students take what they learned and reflect on how it can help innovate teaching in the classroom.

“We are working to expand our students’ perspectives on what good teaching, or instruction, can be like,” Hirsch said. “Professor Driskell’s workshop will hopefully give our students tools to be more creative when partnering with our instructions to expand innovation in the classroom.

“Professor Driskell said that ‘creative thinking is critical thinking’ and I couldn’t agree more. We are here to empower our students to solve tomorrow’s problems, and creative expression is a powerful force of change that sometimes gets lost during the pursuit of a degree.”

Learn more about The Bill Gatton Foundation’s impact at Martin-Gatton CAFE.