Budding poets looking to share their work with an audience have several venues for expression on campus, in downtown Eugene or at local bookstores.
The Buzz Coffeehouse, located on the ground floor of the EMU, holds a poetry open mic night every Monday from 9 p.m. to midnight.
University student Treva Lewis began hosting the event this fall after being a regular performer for one year. She said the open mic is a comfortable haven for creative self-expression.
“It’s a safe place to just go and be a poet,” she said. “Usually when I tell someone I’m a poet, they look at me funny, but at open mic I can feel good about it. It’s just a place to be who you are.”
Lewis has taken intermediate and advanced poetry courses at the University and is currently in the Kidd Tutorial program, a one-year creative writing course. Although advanced poets are common at the open mic, she said poets of all levels perform regularly.
“The most exciting part about hosting open mic is getting to see people perform for the first time,” Lewis said.
Those who want to read poems off-campus can perform at Café Paradiso, located at 115 W. Broadway. The poetry-only open mic has been a new addition to the café and began last summer. It takes place every Wednesday from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Those planning to perform should arrive at 7 p.m. to sign up.
Café Paradiso barista Naomi Levit said the open mic was slow in the beginning but has recently increased in popularity.
“It picked up because people come in to get coffee, see others perform and become inspired to come back and perform themselves,” she said.
Poets with a competitive streak can participate in the Eugene Poetry Slam at Foolscap Books, located at 780 Blair Blvd. The slam is a nine-month competitive series taking place once a month. Poets are eliminated at playoff sessions, and the last four poets remaining comprise the slam team that competes in the National Poetry Slam. Each Eugene slam takes place Saturday at 8 p.m. For more information, including slam rules and schedules, visit www.foolscapbooks.com.
Eugene Poetry Slam director and Foolscap owner Marietta Bonaventure said the slam is popular with University students.
“Three out of four members of last year’s slam team were University students, and many of the audience members are people I have seen from the open mic at The Buzz,” she said.
In addition to directing the Eugene Poetry Slam, Bonaventure has been a performer and occasional audience member at The Buzz open mic. She said observing other poets can inspire writing.
“Watching an open mic gets people interested in poetry,” she said. “It makes them want to go home and start working on stuff.”