Poets & Writers hosts evening open mic at Monte Alto

Frankie Colao-Pineyro

She/Her

Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor

12/7/23

On Thursday, November 30th Poets & Writers held their Open Mic Night at Cafe Monte Alto. Poets & Writers is a student organization that prides itself on fostering a “vibrant writing community on the Plymouth State University campus.” 

The group of people who attended was an incredibly supportive crowd. They encouraged newcomers onto the stage by cheering for them when it was their first time reading.

These events are typically held at Groovy Noodle or the library, however, Monte Alto reached out to Poets & Writers, expressing that they wanted an open mic held at the cafe. “So we thought we could make it happen. We’d share the love with downtown,” said co-president of the organization Daniel Harrison. He also described the process of reaching out to businesses. Their faculty advisor, Paul Rogalis, will act as the liaison with Groovy Noodle. Harrison also stated that he spends a lot of time on Chase Street and often reaches out, “But it’s usually just people want to help students out, so we reach out.”

Bethany Rochester, the owner of Monte Alto, was pleased with how the event turned out, “I thought it was a great turnout. A really fun event, engaging the college community with our local community.” She also noted that a bunch of regulars at the cafe came to listen, “which was cool.” Bethany is hoping to hold another event in February or March. 

Poets & Writers will also release their latest issue of Centripetal, their campus journal of art and writing on Thursday, Dec 7, which is comprised entirely of student work. “We accept submissions year-round, but then we send out a call for submissions at the start of each semester.” The submissions are looked at by a board of graders who do this independently and anonymously. Once all submissions have been graded, and they’ve decided which ones will be accepted, co-presidents Harrison and Kay Bailey will do a “marathon week of putting it all together.” Harrison noted, “And then we have a magazine, and we print it, and they give it to us!” 

Be sure to attend Poets & Writers Centripetal Release Party at Groovy Noodle on Thursday at 7:00 pm. The event will be an open mic featuring readings.