Various members of the University of Wyoming put on a poetry open mic night on Wednesday, Jan. 25, at the local downtown bookstore, Night Heron. There were 38 in attendance, 14 of which stood on stage to read their own original works of poetry.
One of the event organizers, Joseph “Jojo” Edwards, is an undergraduate student at UW and poet himself.
“I’ve always liked poetry, and I felt like this was a great opportunity to get involved with the community. There are other open mics in the area, but I felt like poetry deserved its own night,” Edwards said. “Writing poems is very personal, and it can be intimidating to share them in front of strangers, but ultimately, I think doing so is an important part of the practice.”
“My favorite part of the event is meeting new people and getting exposed to new styles of poetry. It’s also a great chance to test out new material and stretch the creative part of my brain. I look forward to it every month.”
One of the other event organizers and performer, Hailey Mount, a graduate student at UW, echoed the same thoughts.
“I love live poetry readings. There is such a lovely sense of community, and such beautiful art folks are sharing. It feels wonderful to be a part of the event, reading or just listening, and so nice to connect with other poets,” Mount said.
There is only one rule for the event: readers have to get on stage and just be themselves. They are given up to five minutes to go and read whatever poems they see fit for the evening. The only thing they do not tolerate is hate speech.
The open mic night takes place once a month and is slowly gaining a larger audience each and every time they put it on.
“At the last open mic, we had 13 people show up to read; I am not sure how many other attendees were just there to listen. It felt like a good turnout.” Edwards said.
