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Syracuse University alumna Lianza Reyes has turned her love of poetry into a business.

Reyes’ began her business, Lines by Lianza, by writing poems upon request as a way to make extra money. Now, Lines by Lianza has expanded to feature products such as postcards and stickers printed with Reyes’ poetry. Customers can request poems through a Google Form, but she hopes to create a website for the business.

Reyes runs the business herself, but she has worked with friends in her home country of the Philippines to create the artwork that goes with some of her poetry.

“I just want to write for people, and I just want to create art that matters for someone,” Reyes said. “That’s what I’m focused on.”

She started writing poetry when she was 9 years old as a coping mechanism to escape bullying. As she grew up, she listened to slam poetry and read the works of American poets, who primarily influence her style. Reyes writes about topics ranging from nature to trauma.

While applying to college, Reyes knew she wanted to leave the Philippines, and she ended up attending SU as a broadcast digital journalism major. Suzanne Lysak, a former professor of broadcast and digital journalism at SU, met Reyes in her news writing class.

Reyes always had a “way of words,” and she brought with her the unique perspective of being an international student, Lysak said. Even after completing the course, Reyes came to Lysak during office hours and talked about her love of poetry.

Reyes graduated from SU in May 2020 and is currently a graduate student at UNC Chapel Hill. Courtesy of Lianza Reyes

“A lot of journalism students are very straightforward,” Lysak said. “She had a creative edge that she really didn’t want to lose in her journalism writing.”

When she was a resident adviser, Reyes hosted poetry readings with her floor residents. She continued writing poetry during college and released “Ancestral Home,” an audiobook on Bandcamp that contains her poetry and prose, when she turned 21.

When it came time to apply for graduate school, Reyes decided to write poems for $10 to $20 to help pay for applications. She was able to pay off a few, and she realized that people were actually interested in buying her poetry.

Amy Zheng, a friend of Reyes’ who described herself as having an “entrepreneurship mind,” recommended that Reyes start a business making poetry. The two met while participating in the International Radio and Television Society fellowship in New York City. Reyes frequently wrote poetry in the park, and after the fellowship ended, the two kept in touch.

“She just has an amazing way with words and honestly, I haven’t read poetry that has touched my soul to the degree that her poetry has,” Zheng said. “I just proposed the idea to her.”

Though initially hesitant, Reyes started the business in July with Zheng’s encouragement. Her customers are a web of friends and family, as well as college students, but she hopes to broaden her customer base in the future.

Reyes will be starting graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this year. Although she’s going to be juggling schoolwork and a job, she would like to continue the business in the long term.

“I found the more personal and the more vulnerable your poetry is, you actually relate to more people,” Reyes said. “That’s what kept me writing poetry. If I create a connection through that work, I think it’s a job well done.”

Published on September 23, 2020 at 11:36 pm

Contact Christopher: cscargla@syr.edu | @chrisscargs