Soft candlelight and quiet chatter filled the room as students and community members gathered for Take Up Space, an open mic night put on by two of Cal State Monterey Bay’s creative collectives: the LitMatch feminist literature club and In the Ords, literary journal.
Ali Jones, an HCOM professor and director of the Writers From the Edge program, hosted the event; bringing together poets, musicians and writers to share their work in relation to the semester’s theme: ignite.
Held in the library’s Makerspace room, Take Up Space returned for its second event since its debut in April. The series continues to offer a platform for creative expression rooted in community and social awareness: “Whatever it is, I want to make sure we look at creative writing through this lens of social action,” Jones said.
The room’s dim lighting and flickering candles made for an intimate setting where 33 attendees listened closely to performers’ pieces ranging from poetry and prose to songs and short stories.
Some speakers presented readings from handwritten pages, others performed works from memory. Each piece explored themes of identity and belonging, centered on the question of what ignites individual purpose.
Several performers shared poetry and prose that explored personal and collective experiences, from relationships to childhood and upbringing, and even social justice, blurring the line between art and advocacy.
Audience members nodded along, snapped after lines, and clapped hard and cheered loudly between performances. “Thinking beyond just the writing,” Jones said, “moving into what we care about more deeply but also seeing ourselves in each other.”
Jones added that the strong turnout shows a growing interest for creative expression on campus. “The one we did in the spring was huge. We actually had to turn people away because we hit capacity.”
The event also featured guest speaker Ashia Ajani, a poet, activist, and environmental advocate whose work explores the intersections of identity, place and resilience.
Jones said she hopes to continue to invite guest speakers to future events, creating space for dialogue and collaboration that extends off-campus. “It’ll be nice to have them in conversation as people and also as writers,” she said.
Ajani went on to present several of her pieces from various literary works, including her most recent book and collection of poems, “Heirloom.” Her poems centered around concepts like spiritual nourishment, physical and emotional sacrifice, environmental injustice and Black migration and history.
Ajani is also an environmental conservationist, sharing her work in places such as Sierra magazine, Atlas&Alice magazine, Sage magazine, and several more. “One thing I always encourage folks writers and folks who love the creative word, I always encourage them to pursue an interest outside of writing, because oftentimes that feeds your writing,” Ajani said while addressing the attendees.
Jones and many of those involved said the night served as another reminder of how creativity and social advocacy can meet in meaningful and impactful ways.