Muses open mic is my Muse

Last Thursday, Muhlenberg’s literary magazine Muses hosted their spring open mic night. Even though I have written poetry for four years, I had never attended an open mic night before. After some encouraging by some writer friends of mine, I decided to attend and I am glad I did. It was a few hours of being surrounded by fellow creative minds in the cozy fireside lounge. I don’t think I have ever been surrounded by so many fellow poets before. I was so inspired by all those who read and sang that when I returned to my dorm, I cracked open my poetry notebook and began jot- ting down inspiring phrases and ideas for future poems.

I started wondering after the event when the next one would be; Muses usually does one a semester, though they did mention that they hoped to do another this semester. No pressure to the Muses staff, but I really hope you do! I wonder, though, if Muhlenberg will host more literary open mics in general. While I know that there are other open mics, they always seem to be more centered on music. The Muses open mic had poetry, short stories, and original song performances. By adding more open mics each semester—even if it was just one more—there would be more chances to inspire and share art.

As I read a few of my poems at the open mic, I felt encouraged to continue writing; the feeling of inclusion at an open mic is deeply important to any community of writers and the college community at large. Writing and creativity are essential to any liberal arts-focused community. As a firm believer that being a poet has aided me in all of my other classes, it is in Muhlenberg’s best interest to host more open mic nights as a means of spurring creativity in its students.

Since I am only a freshman, I’m not sure what events Muhlenberg has done in the past to publicly include poetry other than open mic nights; there are limited options to engage with creative writing opportunities on campus compared to what I have seen in music and theatre.

When I was in the CA the other day, I could not help but imagine a poetry corner to display a few pieces of writing. In my hometown, both our local library and community center have similar displays. It would be a nice addition to the paintings, photography, and other art that is displayed there. Last semester, someone on campus hung up poems on the doors, which I absolutely loved. It was inspiring to see little poems scattered around campus. It would be nice to have small poems take up a permanent installation around campus, perhaps on doors or walls. We have Victor’s Lament, why not a little bit of poetry?

Whether there are more open mics or little pages of poetry scattered around campus, I hope in the coming semesters at Muhlenberg there are more opportunities to display and appreciate poetry.