Features Reporter
photo by Malissa Smithey
Students listen to a poet at the point.
“You got poetry and you got wine, how can you possibly go wrong?”
With that throwaway line, Suzanne Bronson smiled. A clear plastic cup filled about halfway with red wine in hand, she looked to her friend who had come to The Point to watch Bronson read poetry at Colorado Mesa Literary Review’s open reading Thursday night.
“I love hearing other people, I love hearing the other voices. You’ve got to listen,” Bronson said.
About 20 other writers listened as Bronson read her pieces aloud from a hushed corner in the dimly-lit café area, the shuffling baristas across the way still serving customers, albeit as quietly as they could.
Sitting at the front, Chelsea Jurgens, managing editor for the Literary Review, intermittently checked the list of names she had scribbled on a small notepad.
“I think that it’s really important that people come to these events and see that they’re not alone,” Jurgens said. “Naturally, I do think most writers are introverts. A lot of them will tell you that they write for themselves, but in reality, we all write to be read.”
As the submission period opened on the first day of the fall semester, most of the writers in attendance had already submitted to the Literary Review, according to Jurgens. With the submission deadline looming at Jan. 31 of the New Year, she hopes to see submissions exceed twice the current amount.
“What we’re trying to do is publish anything that can end up on paper that has been a creative moment for CMU students,” she said. “I think that a recipe, a poem, a snippet—sometimes it’s a list and that’s a creative moment for some people.”
From where Literary Review faculty advisor TJ Gerlach was sitting toward the back of the room, one elbow placed on the tall tabletop, Jurgens probably didn’t appear worried about how things were going.
“Every editor I’ve ever worked with, they want it to be bigger,” he said. “The variety is outstanding. There’s a huge range of what people are doing, and that’s very cool. The quality of the [Literary Review] has never been in doubt.”
Gerlach has, however, seen the lofty ambitions of editors deflate in past years.
“The frustration has been to get a core group of students who are very good, and what we want is to be a university thing,” he said.
Most of the people present Thursday night were English majors. Even so, Gerlach was pleased with the turnout, which proves that the Literary Review has a solid base from which they can reach outward.
“What I found endearing about tonight is the way in which, to a person, they are simultaneously shy and eager. It’s like, ‘I’m shy, I wrote something very personal and I would like other people to be a part of it,’” Gerlach said.
A big misconception of the Literary Review is that it is a university publication for English majors by English majors. Yet people who read at Thursday’s reading attributed their participation to something more universal.
“I think when you first go up there for the first time, people want to like you. They really do want to like you and want to like what you’ll be reading and want to relate,” Bronson said. “Maybe that’s their first time in front of an audience and speaking. You’ve got to give kudos to that. You’ve got to respect that.”
Anthony Bruno, who was brave enough to go ahead of everyone for his first ever public reading, looked at home surrounded by his fellow writers, and felt it too.
“A sense of community is nice and it feels like you’re able to feel like you know what another person is up to, and that’s nice,” Bruno said. “I used to be the only dude who ever wrote short stories in my circle of friends. Now, I have friends that write all the time, and it’s just a nice thing to be able to connect with people about. We’re all in it together.”
As Jurgens checked her notepad one last time, the soft glow of the lights warmed the faces of each writer who had read that evening. Amidst the chatter, there was a drawing, and a handful of people got up to claim their respective prizes (a variety of blank journals, one $15 gift card to Barnes & Noble), and jovial conversation resumed.
“It’s just being about to sit and talk to fellow writers. It’s really cool to see what they find interesting and how they work,” said Sara Cooper, fellow English major and assistant editor for the Literary Review. “It’s being able to see their personalities in their writing that just really makes it interesting and fun for everybody.”
As for what’s next for the Literary Review, Jurgens hopes to host at least a couple more reading events in the coming months. And of course, she’s eagerly awaiting more submissions.
amaenchen@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
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