Tobeco Open Mic Night 1/30/2020

Post author:admin
Post published:February 1, 2020
Post category:Events Series / Writing Community

by Jessica Weible, Executive Editor of TWJ

Tobeco Open Mic

Thursday night the Tobeco Literary Arts Journal hosted an open mic event at Michelle’s Cafe in Clarion. The cafe was full of university students, faculty members and members of the general public who came to either participate in or just listen to live poetry readings.

The Tobeco group, sponsored by Clarion University, is organized by Phil Terman, a local poet and Clarion English faculty member. This year, the student editors are DaJanae Drake, Briana Schwab, Samantha Scheibel and Em Kinney, who emceed the event.

Poets of all ages took the mic to share poems ranging from a variety of topics. Some were love poems, some explored painful experiences and some were a contemplation of everyday occurrences. Students cheered on their peers as they shared their work with each other.

Clarion English faculty member, Damian Dressick, who is also the author of the novel 40 Patchtown, read a provocative piece he wrote in response to literary portrayals of Appalachian stereotypes. The Watershed Journal’s featured writer for its recent Winter Edition, Tabby Shah, also read from her stunning collection of work and talked about her involvement with the Journal. Local poet and owner of Artfunkle’s, John Miller, ended the evening with a poem and call to action for students to be more engaged with social and political issues.

Join in with the Tobeco Open Mic Night!

The Tobeco group will continue to hold open mic events throughout the school year. They are also busy preparing for their next publication. Each year they produce a literary journal which features poetry and art work from members of the university and the surrounding community. Tobeco’s mission is “to incorporate artistic expression and conversation in the everyday lives of our members and friends.” The deadline for submission to the Tobeco Literary Arts Journal is February 14th.