Whether through journalism, poetry, or music, Nathan Bass ’27 uses the arts to express himself.
Bass found his love for poetry freshman year, but rekindled it later on as an upperclassman. “I had written a couple of poems, completely forgotten about them and then came back to them later and realized, “Wait, I kind of like doing this,” said Bass.
He then experimented with all different types of poetry to find his style, including ghazal and historical perspectives. Bass said, “Writing from those different perspectives helps me refine my own perspective and put it onto paper.”
“Overall, poetry is just one of the ways I express myself. Being able to take whatever is in my head and put it onto paper is something I really enjoy,” said Bass.
With his love of writing, it was “obvious” for him to join the Brophy Roundup. As a junior, he was asked to be the Entertainment Editor, and he had a great vision for it. “My position as entertainment editor has definitely been focused around music, although there are a lot of other things I cover too,” said Bass.
Along with a strong role in the Roundup, he takes on Head Editor of the Wrangler — Brophy’s satire newspaper. “What really got me into the Wrangler was the culture,” said Bass. “There are things about that club that set it apart. You can make fun of almost anything at Brophy, and somebody else will probably agree with you enough that you can turn it into an article … It doesn’t even necessarily matter if everybody else thinks it’s funny, because we think it’s funny.”
A highlight of his tenure at Brophy has been the FAE. “Junior year, I put together a band with a couple of my friends. We played some songs at FAE, and we’re doing the same thing again this year,” said Bass.
Now, senior year, he is lined up for around seven different performances. “My voice is probably going to be dead by the end of the night, but it’s worth it. I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” said Bass.
Reflecting on his time at Brophy, he wishes that he’d been more open initially as a freshman. “I’d tell myself to soften up to the world and soak it all in instead of pushing everything away.
Don’t be so hostile to everything around you because there’s a lot you can learn without having to be overly tough about everything. You can be vulnerable. You don’t have to close yourself off from what you’re meant to be doing here,” said Bass.
However, despite starting off closed, he learned how to open himself up.
A message he would want to leave for others is: “Brophy’s whole thing is going from boyhood to manhood, but Brophy isn’t magic. It’s not going to work unless you want it to.”
Through the arts, Bass has learned to express himself and become more open. Whether through writing or music, he has found ways to share his perspective with others.
