Friday night, Quilt will be hosting the first ever Formal Open Mic in the Music Room in Plant Hall at 8 p.m.
This will be Quilt’s last open mic of the year.
Gentleman should wear slacks or khakis and ties; ladies should wear dresses or pants suits.
The fun aspect of this open mic is not just the dressing up, but reading formal poems, like sonnets, ballads, sestinas, terzas rimas, odes.
The idea for this event came from a conversation between the Editor-in-Chief Derrick Austin and Poetry Editor Cody Waters.
As Austin said, it “ was a happy accident…. I took it a step further and thought it’d be fun if the poets were just as formal as their poems,” Austin said.
This will be Austin’s last open mic as editor and he thought it would be nice to have it be a memorable one.
According to him they have never required a dress code before, but, since everyone loves to dress up, he thought it would be fun.
Erica Dawson, assistant English and writing professor will be the new Quilt advisor next year and she is really looking forward to Friday’s event.
“I want it to be something that feels like a big deal. I think that it’s important for younger writers to feel that they’re part of a community and I’m not sure that community exists for the creative writers on campus yet,” Dawson said. She wants the open mics to be a place were students writers can read their work, feel comfortable without pressure and meet new people outside of the classroom.
“I want to make sure that it’s a good time and that there’s food,” Dawson said. “Since it’s at night and formal, we can play with the atmosphere a little bit. Maybe some candles, maybe a little music in-between readers.”
She hopes to continue this event every year and have it be something that students look forward to.
“I’m hoping it can serve as the writer’s ‘prom,’ for a lack of a better word,” Dawson said.
Dawson thinks that this will be a good way to send the seniors off with a nice goodbye and a way to appreciate the work they’ve done as students.
She also believes it’s a good way to end the school year.
Dawson said students should celebrate the fact they’ve made it through an academic year.
“Quilt has had my heart for four years,” Austin said. “Hopefully, with this reading we can start inspiring new people to join Quilt.”
Mandy Erfourth can be reached at mandy.tt.carr@gmail.com