a  ———EEEEE—E———OeEE—EE—EEEEEEeEeEeEeEeoeoeeeeeeeeeee

[he nightclub converted into a seating area around yanked on them with a solid grasp. Dennis Schreine’,
the stage. Its seats filled with the fellow students, | _ an English professor at CNC, noted that his work
faculty, and the families and friends of the poets. | —_ was “thought-provoking,” It would be interesting to
Graham Pearce, the instructor of the course, satin know if this young poet’s work on tragic death and
the front row, directly stage left, sipping his beer. internal pain is therapeutic or challenging to present
The smile of pride for his class never left his face. in front of an audience.

Approximately forty people entered the dancefloor-
turned-seating area. As the lights went out and The shock value of the sex talk and the vulgarity
patrons continued to sip my overpriced drink, the throughout most of the night lost its luster. By the |
opening act stepped onto the stage. time the final poet finished her set, the number of
times the theme of lust was covered throughout the
Justin Madu, rising comedic talent in Prince _ night was innumerable. “Some people want just to
George, opened the night with punchy jokes of sweat to swear,” noted an attendee of the evening it
self-deprecation and pop-culture. Despite joking that a follow-up interview. While poetry should continue
the audience was not expecting a comedy act, they- _to challenge one’s comfort zone, with poets con-
seemed to respond well to his material. Long build- _ tinuously building new boxes just to break through
ups to some punchlines provided less payoff than them, there comes the point when profanity replace
perhaps expected. Other jokes about “tears hidden —_ strong words rather than strengthening them. |
in a shower” and the like were met with roars. His
stage presence was undeniable. His ability to hold an In sharp contrast, many of the students enrolled
artsy crowd with relatable material is to be amended. _ in the class diverted from this trend and used hu-
Overall, this comedian’s tongue-in-cheek presenta- mour and imagery. Mason Young notably got the |
tion was a great way to loosen up the audience ona —_ crowd laughing, He announced that his inspiration
rainy November evening, stemmed from the horror genre and anime. His
work was gory, horrid, and hilarious in how

With the crowd settled and ready for some iam- unexpected his poems were. Christine Force’s use o
bic pentameter, the first poet took to the small dramatic pausing during her witty poem titled
stage. The acts included various students present- “Silence” went over the head of many audience
ing around three or four of their pieces from their members.
chapbooks from the second-year course. Common

| motifs arose, especially of loneliness, heartache, By the end of the night, the audience left the
and love. Other students touched on mental illness, | venue with a small window of understanding of 2
challenging its reigns on their lives through their each of the poets. The annual event is a fantastic o
words. Full of angst and rage at the world, the poets opportunity for the students of the Creative Writ- =
did not hold back against the topics of their works. ing course to present their works outside of the =
Vicious attacks against internal and external con- classroom setting, With an exceptional venue, good |
flicts, the mind and the body, unrequited love, and drinks, and even better company, the Chapbook =
fate led to high emotions. Braiden Hink works not Release Party was overall a successful night. &
only tugged on the heartstrings of the audience but = ~~

“The annual event is a fantastic opportunity fo
the students of the Creative Writing course to
present their works outside of the classroom

getting.” — -