Ashley Larson

Contributing Writer

Kemp Library’s first open mic of this semester was one for the books. It was populated exclusively by poets on Sept. 25.

The featured poet was Ashley Barrasso, who is getting her graduate degree in biology.

“This one I wrote about cheese,” Barrasso said, before reciting a poem about cheese and wine. She read multiple poems with a variety of topics, a few of them about feminism. “I love being a woman,” she says, “But somehow, as a woman, we do not live freely.”

Some poems were about childhood. “I was tasked with the smoking gun,” she read, “I am a puzzle piece, fallen behind the bedroom dresser.”

“Do not fall in love with a writer,” she read from a poem about love and relationships. “Maybe is a word we use in times of uncertainty.”

Her poetry was mixed with rhyme schemes and free verse, and she had a vivid sense of imagery and metaphor that had the audience applauding.

Sebastian Aiello is a freshman mid-level education major who wrote his first poem the night before.

He hopes that writing poetry will help him “Get into the minds of the poets who wrote mythology.”

Aiello wrote his poem in dedication to his partner, Angel Robles, who also spoke at the poetry reading. “Poetry helps me connect with my partner,” he said.

“As we journey through life, step by step,” he read, “I am forever bound, body and soul.”

Angel Robles, who is an art and media design major as well as a digital media technology major, has been writing poems since childhood.

Their dad is a published poet and he would test his new poems on them.

“Edgar Allen Poe is my favorite poet,” they said, “My favorite is Annabel Lee.”

Robles made no illusions to the political nature of their work, almost basking in it.

“Show our children that they are safe to be anyone they want to be,” they read from a poem about abolishing societal gender roles. “I am not affected by X’s and Y’s.”

“Woman is hated because man hates what he fears.”

Their final poem was a romantic poem intertwined with allusions to mythology.

“Love has no eyes, but I’ll follow you blindly,” they read, a nod to the Greek myth “Eurydice and Orpheus.”

The final poet was Salvatore Gallo, who is getting his graduate degree in accounting.

“First poetry reading as an autistic accountant,” he prefaced his poems, “First one is about the clutter in my mind.”

Gallo also wrote a poem about a recent breakup of his.

“I knew it was flawed, but I still followed the basics anyway, I knew, I knew, I knew,” he read, “I love you, but we’re not at a point where we can intertwine.”

Gaello started writing poetry a week ago, “I figure it’d be therapeutic.” His ex was a poet who read her poetry to him, and that drew him to her. But it was also another way for him to express himself. “I listen to music, but I don’t know how to play instruments, so—poetry.”

Kemp Library hosts their open mics every third Wednesday, and invites all students to sign up and perform.