Shippensburg University’s undergraduate journal of the arts, The Reflector, hosted a community-wide open mic and poetry reading at the Shippensburg Arts Programming and Education (SHAPE) Gallery Friday night.
Both Reflector members and local attendees shared the microphone with a Halloween-themed twist. While some performed live readings of classic spine-tingling poems like Edgar Allan Poe’s “Annabel Lee” and an Old English telling of the epic poem “Beowulf,” others took the mic to share original poetry.
The Reflector’s editor-in-chief, Chris Carragher, kicked off the event by reciting two original poems.
“This isn’t just a Ship event,” Carragher said. “It’s more of a community event.”
In the past, The Reflector has held its open mic nights at McFeely’s Coffeehouse on campus. By occasionally switching up venues, the event becomes much more open and accessible to the Shippensburg community.
“This is a tradition that the previous editor-in-chief established,” Carragher said.
Friday night’s reading marks The Reflector’s third open mic night held at the SHAPE Gallery.
The Reflector is currently looking for original prose, short stories, poetry and art submissions to be published in their annual Journal of the Arts. New to this year’s edition is the addition of music submissions via YouTube links. The chosen videos will be shared in the form of Quick Response (QR) codes that, when scanned with a smartphone, will send viewers directly to the video of their choice. Undergraduates interested in applying should send submissions to reflect@ship.edu for consideration no later than Friday, November 16, 2018.
Undergraduates interested in contributing to the journal should send submissions to reflect@ship.edu for consideration no later than Friday, Nov. 16.
The Slate welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.