One ‘yes’ away: What Claire Donohoe taught me about community

To best describe my relationship with Claire Donohoe, my co-host at The Poetry Room, think of Pixar’s “Up.” I’m the grumpy old man. Donohoe is the adorable child knocking on my door, trying to earn her poetry badge.

Anyone who knows me knows I take this work seriously. I have high standards, and I believe opportunities should be earned, not given (ugh, okay, grump).

I’ve known Donohoe since she was a freshman at Michigan State University. When she tried out for the university’s College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational team, I initially had her as a reserve, prioritizing upperclassmen. It wasn’t a lack of talent. I wanted to see how people responded when asked to do more (see what I mean?!).

Jillian Bowe, the team’s leader at the time, pushed back. Donohoe was the one person Bowe was 1,000% certain belonged on the team. I’ve never been happier to be wrong.

The CUPSI tournament never returned after the pandemic, but Donohoe still stuck around. Over the past five years, we’ve organized events featuring nationally touring poets and invested in videography to bring our poets’ work to wider audiences. 

Donohoe’s “Girl Dinner” was featured on Button Poetry, and “I Choose the Bear” reached 1 million views in 48 hours. It’s now approaching 3 million views on The Poetry Room’s platform. She earned every bit of that success, and I couldn’t be prouder.

I asked Donohoe what keeps bringing her back to Lansing, especially now that she lives back home and drives 90 minutes to join us at least once a month. She told me Lansing is supportive and that you don’t find events like ours everywhere. 

She’s built community and friendships here.

As a student, Donohoe would pack her car with other students and bring them to The Robin Theatre, encouraging them to venture into Lansing. She saw an open door and walked through it.

Why wouldn’t she bring others along? Opportunities in Lansing don’t always come with neon signs promising success. Sometimes you have to show up before you understand what a place can offer. Donohoe did that. She kept showing up and brought people with her. She is the definition of leading with love. She put in the work long before millions watched her videos. She was ready when opportunity came.

What she may not know is that our relationship has been a source of healing for me. Community work comes with its share of bumps. 

I won’t spill the tea on those experiences in a City Pulse article, but pouring into a student and watching her grow became my own redemption story. I had grown cynical. I was carrying a lot, and somewhere along the way, I’d become the grumpy old man from “Up.”

Donohoe, meanwhile, loved this poetry thing so much. She brought excitement and affection to everything she did. Her enthusiasm reminded me what it looks like to care about something without holding back. As she would say, “This is like my Super Bowl!”

Knowing I was the elder in our working relationship, I felt a responsibility for bringing my best self. Someone was watching. In the process, Donohoe helped me remember why I started doing this work. She’s become one of my favorite people to work with. We have an unlikely yin-and-yang energy that works for our audience, and I think she’ll make an incredible mentor one day.

When I asked what advice she would give students, her answer was simple: do all the things you want to do, even if it doesn’t make sense right now. One day, it will all come together.

You can’t predict which opportunity will change your life or which community will make you feel like you belong. An entire adventure might be waiting on the other side of a drive you weren’t sure was worth making. Donohoe understood that as a student. She walked through Lansing’s open door and kept coming back, even when she no longer had to.

I thought I was giving a student an opportunity. I didn’t realize how much she would give back.

Sometimes, the person knocking on your door to earn a poetry badge reminds you why you opened the door in the first place.

So, do all the things. Bring your friends. Cross the highway. Show up before you know what it will mean. You never know what’s waiting on the other side of one “yes.”

You can follow Donohoe at CWroteIt on TikTok, Instagram and Substack.