Thursday, April 18 saw the close of the Poets and Writers of Colorado Mesa University (CMU) for the semester, concluding with an open reading by those in attendance.

Held monthly in the Five 60 Salon down on Main Street, the series this year has seen numerous professors, former students and authors from around Grand Junction, and beyond, come to read their works, however grand in scale or personal to them they are.

“My tradition at the open readings is to use a Tibetan singing bowl to bong people off if they’re taking too much time,” CMU English Professor Nizalowski said.

There were several readers for the open mic and special guest author, Carolyn Servid, who moved to Palisade in 2017 after living for 37 years in Alaska. Nizalowski walked in front of the audience and began to introduce just who would be reading.

“We have four readers for the open mic. We’ll begin with one of my former students, a truly fine narrative writer, Matthew Eastland,” Nizalowski said.

Eastland came up to read, having prepared a short poem. “I apologize for its brevity, although I apologize even more for its sordid nature. This is a sonnet,” Eastland said.

Afterwards, Nizalowski introduced the next reader. “Laura Morning, who took my creative nonfiction class many many years ago, who is now an instructor at CMU, and also a superb narrative writer in the nonfiction genre,” Nizalowski said.

Morning read a short story written several years ago, a memoir about her journey through Mexico.

“I wasn’t planning this, but it’s all okay, it’s all okay. John has been so instrumental in these readings, and he just keeps it going. I think all the faculty at CMU really owe him a debt of gratitude because he’s so dedicated to this,” Morning said. “This is a short story I wrote several years ago. It’s a memoir. It’s something that I carry around with me.”

A short excerpt:

Now I sat on the plaster bench in front of the bus depot, wondering whether to walk to the next village, another good hike, or find a place to stay for the night. A few yards away an old grainery truck idled peacefully in the dust; the driver appeared from across the plaza, holding paperwork in his hand, and we made eye contact. He strolled toward the truck, swung his door open, and threw away his clipboard. I decided to approach him. 

“Hello, are there any more buses going out tonight?” I asked in Spanish, fully knowing what the answer would be, but I didn’t want to feel all alone in this place, this sleepy village that now was rolling up like some abandoned movie set.

After another open reading, Carolyn Servid came out to read. Carolyn’s most recent return visits to her home place in India in 2010 and 2013 sparked a keen interest in writing to explore issues of home, belonging and the consequences of privilege that are inescapably intertwined with her ongoing love of the place and people she grew up with. 

The Poets and Writers series are completed for the semester. “I have been doing readings in the series for eleven years now. It is always a delight,” Nizalowski said. The series looks forward to more writing and reading next time.