On Wednesday, February 26, students read their own original poetry in the first of several open- mic poetry readings scheduled to take place this semester. The event took place in the Harbor Point Art Gallery and had five readers participate. Almost every poet read more than one poem, because not as many presenters showed up as expected. Conflicting events were scheduled for the same time as the readings. Even though turnout was less than anticipated, the poets presented lively, thought-provoking, and entertaining poems to delight and keep interested the small crowd in attendance.
The first presenter was Evan Sicuranza, who read an original poem entitled “Dancing In Bed,” which described the love of a woman and the joy of being with her intimately. The next presenter, who was only known as Victor, presented two poems. Victor’s presentation style was different than that of other presenters; he rapped them out in rhyming verse, as opposed to simply reading. Victor read two poems “12:30 Train,” about his experiences riding the subway home late at night and all the weird people he’s seen, and “Weapons of Mass Distraction,” which was clearly anti-war in theme. The third presenter was Jay Cole, reading a poem entitled “What I Thought Was My Colon Was Really My Navel.” Cole’s style was unique, in that he seemed to take on a different persona when he read, almost as though he was acting out the person in his poem. Next, Colleen Rusconi read a poem entitled “Hey,” which also had a very strong anti-war theme. Last, but not least, was Natalie Cooper, reading “Interviews somewhere in Kuwait.”
Sicuranza, Cooper, and Rusconi organized the reading. Despite a low turnout, the event still ran smoothly, with no distractions. The organizers hope to have the next poetry reading in the Wit’s End Café sometime next month. The goal is to provide an outlet for students at UMass who love to either write or listen to poetry. The organizers want weekly poetry workshops open to any interested students. In these workshops, students would be encouraged to read their poems then receive helpful tips about ways to improve them. The workshops would allow for poets to meet one another and share ideas. The dates and times are still being determined. The organizers are also working on a journal of student poetry, Hypergraphia. The magazine has been released before at UMB, and the latest edition is set to come out sometime this semester.
Rusconi, Cooper, and Sicuranza are trying to form a community of poets at UMass Boston, a source for advice, support, and creativity. Poetry can be a very powerful creative medium and workshops, like the ones to be held here at UMB, can help poets maximize their skills.