On Valentine’s Day, writers and poets on campus gathered in The Gund’s lobby to share their love of language at the Sunset Press Open Mic. Participants brought their different perspectives on life, love and individual identity to share their work with one another in an intimate atmosphere. 

“Love is one of the strongest emotions that we feel, and writing is one of the most interesting ways we try to externalize that. That is why it is always so fun to listen to people who write poetry about love because it is such a distinct feeling for everyone,” said Emma Smith ’28 after sharing her poem. 

When asked what might be surprising about the event, Mihir Joshi Lennox ’27, one of Sunset Press’ head editors, said, “Every single open mic has something unexpected, and you never know what is going to inspire you or touch you, so open mics are unexpected by default.” For example, Eleanor Calabrese ’28 envisioned running into someone they once loved in their piece, while Smith thought about individual beauty and waking up next to a lover, and Addison Shafley ’28 thought about gatherings to celebrate a person’s life in a short story called, “A Wedding, a Birth, and a Funeral.” 

Phineas Schanbacher ’29 captured the audience with perspectives that are not often represented in literature. “I was inspired by identity and experience and how the two shape each other,” he explained. “I’m autistic, so a lot of my poetry hinges on the disconnect I often feel from the people around me, and the ways I cope with it.” Schanbacher read from pieces that dealt with the complexity of forgiving oneself, self-identity and releasing blame from those who shaped our childhood. His readings included a poem titled, “I’m learning to forgive myself for the things I did to survive,” a piece called “Automatic Writing on Autism” and an American sonnet, “I don’t blame you.” All had a depth that compelled the audience to think about how our experiences shape our life journey and identity. 

Similar to Schanbacher, Zaeda Stiles ’29 wove a sentiment of self-love into her reading. Stiles shared two poems; one used anatomical vocabulary to describe the type of love that runs through us physically. Her poem “open wound” states, “i wish i could bleed you out of me / but, remaining / you / pulse through / blood cells, arteries / movement, muscle, memory.” Ending her reading, she read an untitled poem that she said “is newer, … acts as the sister poem to ‘open wound’ [and] wraps everything up.” Stiles added, “I liked that my second poem focuses on self-love, which is super important, especially on Valentine’s Day.” 

One writer chose to send a message to someone in the audience. Lillie Waltz ’29 shared in an interview with the Collegian after the performance, “This particular reading was special because my poem was a message for someone in the audience at the reading, which I’ve never done before.” Waltz said that her poem, “Weather Report With Mouth Open,” was “inspired by my very complicated feelings about love and relationships these past few weeks, and was probably one of the most honest pieces I’ve written so far.” The piece describes her authentic experience with love, using terminology referring to the atmosphere and geosphere. One stanza read, “Let me count / the constellations freckled / across your shoulder. Not to name them, I don’t / want to own the sky — but to watch / how they rearrange when you breathe.”

Since some of the readings ran short, several writers in the audience had the surprise opportunity to share their work. “One of my favorite parts of this open mic night was the opportunity for so many impromptu readings,” said Oli Wulff ’26, one of the editors-in-chief at Sunset Press. An impromptu reading by Elsa Johnson ’29 fit in perfectly with the bittersweet feeling of a past love on Valentine’s Day. She read a poem called, “i may need you.” When asked why she chose to perform, she said, “We broke up recently, so reading this piece today allowed me to fully appreciate what we had on Valentine’s Day and then to let it go.” 

Overall, the Sunset Press Open Mic pushed writers to take a leap — a leap toward love, a leap toward expression and a leap toward sharing. In an intimate atmosphere, every writer in the room gained a new perspective. On a day surrounded by everyone professing love or hating it, those who attended the Sunset Press Open Mic experienced the unexpected nature of writing, whether through the concept of forgiveness or confession in order to feel love.