On December 9 from 1-2:15, Jamey Trotter’s Creative Writing class takes to Arapahoe Community College’s Littleton campus’ Half-moon Cafe to read from their original creative work from throughout the semester. After students from ENG2021 that participated in this unofficial event finished speaking, the floor turned into an open mic for anybody interested. This event took place as a form of professional practice in sharing writing publicly on a podium, as well as a means of acknowledging and celebrating work amongst peers.
On why he decided to have the open mic for his intro to creative writing class, Trotter, who minored in creative writing himself, discussed the importance of reading your work in front of an audience, how that can help students with networking, and just how the experience can be exhilarating and fun.
Alex Bosworth, a creative writing student at ACC, shares his thoughts on sharing his writing in front of people. “I do enjoy it because it’s a challenge,” said Bosworth. “It’s nerve-wracking. I’ll practice a piece various times when I’m at home, but no matter how many times you practice, you’ll never truly be prepared for that moment when you’ll be talking on stage.”
Each speaker was able to walk out to their own song of choice. The songs ranged from “Dazed and Confused” by Led Zeppelin, to “777” by Joji, and then all the way to “Killing in the Name of” By Rage Against the Machine. It was a cool way to see each of the readers’ personalities before they spoke reflected through music.
An attendee who came to show support for his son Ben Vialle, who would be reading during the event, said he was “really enjoying this” when asked what he thought about the readings.
ENG2021 or Creative Writing 1, focuses on students finding their own styles through different genres, like poetry, dramas, and other forms of fiction. Creative writing, according to Baylor University, already uses words not usually used while speaking to convey emotion better without verbal cues. So being able to perform creative writing pieces out loud gives the audience the nonverbal cues needed to convey the intent and emotion of the piece to be performed even better.
Students got together in the Half-moon, listened to and appreciated each other’s writing, not only as a final assignment, but also as a celebratory compilation of Trotter’s students’ creative writing.
