Students, staff, faculty and local residents were invited to share their original poetry on Thursday night.
VU’s Creative Writing Club hosted an Open Mic Poetry Jam at 6 p.m. in the Shircliff Humanities Auditorium to allow students to express themselves through poetry and be cheered on by family and friends.
Zoey Rinesmith, the club’s president and graphic design occupational photography major, said this was the club’s first official event.
“The idea originally came from our advisor, Ms. Hencely, who was teaching poetry in her creative writing class,” Rinesmith said. “One of our other members suggested a poetry jam.”
The event was not a contest, but rather an outlet for students to come and share without added pressure.
“We were very blessed in the sense that everyone was generous and decided to donate stuff to us, so we really had no cost for the event,” Rinesmith said.
The club decided that they would not make anyone submit their work directly but instead added a disclaimer that there could be adult content as it was considered to be a family-friendly event.
“I’m excited to see people here and see what our club is doing because we are brand new and trying to make a name for ourselves,” Rinesmith said.
General studies major Ty Voisine, who is also a club member, performed a short poem about his relationship with God.
“’As a Christian, I wrestle with God a lot,’ is how I like to put it,” Voisine said. “The poem I wrote was kind of about my thoughts: ‘Does God notice me, you know?'”
Though a new member of the Creative Writing Club, Voisine is not new to writing.
“I always wanted to draw comics and there’s a lot of storytelling that goes into that,” Voisine said.
Vice President and General Studies major Grace Kays was inspired by her mother in her poem entitled Thunderstorm.
“I have a lot of love and respect for my mom. She did her best in raising me while working the night shift,” Kays said. “She’s my biggest cheerleader.”
The club’s efforts to get more publicity have included word-of-mouth, flyers, and TV and radio ads throughout campus.
They are looking for new members and are excited to host more events in the near future, such as the 24-hour Play-in-a-Day event set April 25-26.
“All are welcome as long as they are willing to share their works and support other people,” Kays said. “And it’d just be really fun to have more people.”
For more information about the Creative Writing Club, students can send an email [email protected].
