Under the warm, dim light of Rooster’s Coffeehouse, waves of finger snaps and cheers filled the air at a queer open mic night that welcomed student artists to share their work.
The Carleton Poetic Society hosted the event on Thursday in collaboration with the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) as part of the school’s Pride Week festivities.
CUSA vice-president (student life), Cass Geddes, a fourth-year developmental psychology student, reached out to the Poetic Society to organize the event.
“I wanted a collab that catches all students in some way, shape or form,” they said.
For Poetic Society president Dylan Vinette, a third-year linguistics and communication disorders student, the open mic night served as a platform for empowerment and representation.
“This open mic was not just about performance, it was about creating an open, safe and affirming environment where creativity and identity can co-exist,” Vinette said. “[It] was about sharing your truth and reminding people how art can build belonging.”
Thalia Wright, a first-year global and international studies student, performed “shower thoughts” poetry about their experiences with self-love and identity at the open mic.
As a genderfluid and pansexual person, they said they are eager to find where queer spaces and people are at Carleton.
One line in their poem, “On the TV screen, where the guy gets the girl, and the princess is always swept off her feet,” captures how their genderfluid identity clashes with gendered conceptions of love they’ve been taught, Wright said.
“I love storytelling and I love performing,” they added. “I was still a bit nervous going up there, and just hearing the snaps and the soft ‘mmmm’s’ was very encouraging.”
Colby Botchar, a third-year psychology student, said it was her first time attending an open mic.
Hoping to meet other queer people and take in the performances, she said the event offered a space for queer people — including bisexuals like herself — to get together.
She did not perform, but said she felt “inspired to perform in the future.”
Symah Nbaga, vice-president of communications for the Poetic Society, performed “I Know A Place” by Conan Gray, a song she said always brings her comfort.
“The Poetic Society feels like home away from home,” Nbaga said.
She said the event offered a safe space for self-expression, whether it was through performing or just by attending.
“I know what it’s like to not belong in a space,” she said.
“I really hope people are aware that there are spaces for you somewhere at Carleton, you are allowed to exist, you are allowed to express and be yourself in whatever form that may be.”
Featured image by Laura Arenas/the Charlatan
