To showcase student poetry at Cal State Monterey Bay (CSUMB), In the Ords and Writers from the Edge opened up the Makerspace this past Thursday for an open mic night. Hosted by Professor Alie Jones, the event welcomed 54 attendees – many of whom took the chance to share their work.
Jones began the event by reading her own poetry before opening up the floor to a diverse lineup of voices, including several students from her course, Poetry and Pop Culture.
The night featured performances from two long-standing poets, Landon Smith and Tongo Eisen-Martin. Eisen-Martin has been a contributor to Writers from the Edge since 2022 and previously served as San Francisco’s Poet Laureate.
‘Writers from the Edge’ has been an annual literature series that spotlights contemporary authors, such as Eisen-Martin. While many of the authors are published within the series, this event allowed unpublished students to share the same stage.
Among them, fourth-year ethnic and gender studies major Francisco Lopez read her poem “I Can’t Turn in My Homework,” which contrasted global and personal issues.
“It was my first time reading at an event like this,” Lopez said. “Having the room to read about personal stuff like this was very nice.”
Although the Makerspace is not traditionally used for poetry events, it was transformed into a makeshift stage, decorated with scattered instruments and colorful arts and crafts materials. The cozy, creative environment matched the spirit of the performance.
One standout moment came from In the Ords club President Aubrey Amila, who read a poem about the emotional weight of moving from city to city. The piece serves as a subtle farewell to her fellow staff members ahead of her upcoming move to Columbia University.
“I wrote it about two hours ago, and it was to represent the people I left behind,” Amila said.
“Students have made such creative poetry,” said Jones, closing the event..“I love hearing new writers.”