The first open mic event for fall semester was held Sept. 24 at the Newman Grind.
Hosted by students Matthew Clark and Murphy Obershaw and sponsored by the theater, English and art departments, and the Dugan Library, the event encouraged students and faculty to showcase their talents through poetry, song, dramatic verse or prose. Snacks were provided as well as prizes.
Junior Elizabeth Urban performed “The Rose” by Christina Rossetti.
Urban decided to read this poem because “Newman Choral’s ongoing theme for this year is poetry. One of the pieces we will be performing is a musical arrangement of the poem. This is a really nice poem. We performers aren’t really anything without an audience to perform for.”
Clark addressed the audience during the event, saying, “It’s cool to see so many artists here. There’s nothing like sitting down with other human beings (at an event that) lets us see each others’ feelings through poems and music.”
An original piece, “Look”, was performed by John Suffield:
Life can be as sweet as an apple but as sour as a lime
I may fall and I may run but then I look to the sky and see the sun
so bright as which allows me to look around
which directs my site down to the ground
it’s a lovely ground so flush and full of green
there must be Beauty in this world for its all I’ve seen
[…]
Suffield won first prize in the poem category for his original work. His poem, he said, was read for the struggling freshmen who are having a difficult time adjusting to their new lives.
“This poem helps me stay focused and (reminds) me that I can be triumphant in what I do. I can come out, look around, and see how beautiful the world is and I can’t let other things let me down. I believe in the poem, the world is our dreams and the boy is a representation of us giving up on our dreams. So this helps me focus on my dreams no matter how bad it seems.”
Upcoming Open Mic events will be held at the Newman Grind Oct. 22 and Nov. 19 from noon to 1 p.m. For more information, contact Susan Crane-Laracuente at [email protected].
