The event takes place monthly during each semester, with faculty, staff and students performing everything from self-penned poems, book chapters and even songs.
LONDON — Those turning up to creative writing open mic nights on Northeastern University’s London campus need to know just three rules.
Performers have a maximum of 10 minutes. No reading from your phone. And definitely no apologizing.
“That last one is the one I insist on the most,” says co-organizer Rory Gleeson, assistant professor in creative writing.
“Performers are bringing up work that they should believe in — because they should believe in themselves as writers and they should believe in the writing that they have brought along.
“They shouldn’t say ‘Oh, I just wrote this on the way over’ or ‘I’m very sorry, this is not as good as I thought it was.’ None of that.
“It is for them to go up there, take themselves seriously, to bring us something that they want to bring us and never feel like they should apologize for being where they are — that is really important.”
With usually a dozen or more contributors to get through at each open mic, the need for a 10-minute speaking limit is self-explanatory.
But why no phones? “It just completely interrupts your connection with the audience. And people accidentally lock their phones, they can’t find the file, they do all sorts — so no phones,” Gleeson reiterates.
The open mic nights started in 2022 and are co-run by Gleeson and Sam Kemp, an assistant professor and experimental poet, with the pair taking turns introducing the participants.
The 90-minute event takes place at Devon House, the main teaching building on campus, on a monthly basis when school is in session, usually on a Thursday.
Gleeson, a writer and scriptwriter, says that there is usually a first-time performer each month, with people having read in languages as diverse as Farsi, Swedish and Russian.
The vibe is designed to be laid back and welcoming, with the audience encouraged to show those getting up to the front plenty of appreciation both before and afterwards.
“There is a nice, jokey atmosphere,” says Kemp. “It has got to be relaxing and fun.
“For us, the most important people in the room are the audience. They are the ones that make it. They are the ones that have the biggest job to do, which is to support everyone that is going up there — to clap, whoop and everything.
“That is the vibe which I think keeps people coming back.”
At the last event, which was loosely themed around Valentine’s Day, performers took to the stage for a mixture of self-penned poetry, prose, reflection and songs.
Professional staff read works by their favorite poets, students performed poems they had been inspired to write as they reflected on their three years studying philosophy at Northeastern and faculty had the audience in stitches with extracts from a book of fiction they are writing.
The sessions — which come with the added bonus of free pizza — are a way of bringing the entire university together, Gleeson says.
“It makes the university smaller and more intimate, and works to break down those barriers between faculty, staff and students,” he adds.
“It is a way of getting everyone in the same room in a way that is really lovely and intimate. And we get to know each other a lot better and have the chance to perform.”
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