Write Night showcases student literary talent
Luke Frigon, Katie Bolger and Michael Deleon shine at The Mercury’s Write Night. Photo credit to the author.
By Annika Jensen, Web Editor
On the evening of Thursday, Nov. 5 students congregated in the Junction for poetry, prose and coffee at The Mercury magazine’s annual Write Night. Throughout the night, students performed their individual and/or favorite literary works and answered trivia questions in the open-mic atmosphere. A variety of poems and short stories were read, including many originals.
Jared Richardson ‘18 began the night with two humorous poems by Taylor Mali, “Totally Like Whatever, You Know?” and “The the Impotence of Proofreading,” drawing laughter from the audience. He was followed by Emily Pierce ‘18, who first performed an original poem, initially titled “I Am No Longer Collecting Storm Water.” Pierce mentioned that she had written the piece over the summer, and her emotions toward the subject had changed, so she consequently renamed the poem “****boy.” She finished by performing “New Year’s Day” by Kim Addonizio.
Michael Deleon ‘18 gave two spoken-word performances of original poems, “Face Value” and “Can You See Me Now?” He meditated on themes of sexuality, acceptance and prostitution. Deleon was followed by first-years Aubrey Link, who read an original short story with a plot twist, and Sarah Linton, whose eloquent prose piece “This Is Not a Story of Boy Meets Girl,” was written earlier that morning.
Aphra Murray ‘18 next read Marina Keegan’s “The Opposite of Loneliness,” a powerful speech delivered with emotion and virtue. Murray tugged at the hearts of the audience by reflecting on Keegan’s short life and overwhelmingly early death. Next was first year Paul Triandafilou, who performed two original poems; one, a love letter, and the other titled “Of the People, by the People, for the People,” which dealt with issues of racial violence and incorporated lyrics from popular patriotic songs.
Katie Bolger ‘18, the events planner for The Mercury and the night’s emcee, finished off the readings by sharing an original poem about her paradoxical relationship with her mother and “Today Means Amen” by the popular Youtube artist Sierra DeMulder.
The Mercury is now open for submissions and is accepting fiction, nonfiction, poetry and art. Work can be submitted at http://cupola.gettysburg.edu/mercury/.
