By Theresa Sintetos
Guest Writer
The spotlight was provided by a gooseneck reading lamp attached to a floor lamp as the graduating seniors of TerPoets and the Jiménez-Porter Writers’ House gave their last performance in its off-white glow at the last open mic night of the year Tuesday night.
Seniors Brendan Kennedy, Mina Anderson, Patrick McGinty, Alec Goodwin, Dylan Bargteil, Sohayl Vafai and David Turner all preformed at the senior night themed open mic, some for the last time, while others plan to make a few cameo appearances in the years to come.
Sophomore Erin O’Reilly took advantage of her final chance to perform this year. “I have lived in this building for two years, and since this our last night I figured I would perform” she said. “I literally finished this song today so I could perform tonight. It’s the first time I’ve finished a song.”
The star of the night did not actually perform and was never seen in the spotlight. TerPoets president senior Jan Asher was found behind a computer screen, the DJ for the night.
TerPoets members made Asher’s last open mic night special, surprising her with a collaboratively-written poem and a homemade cake during the intermission.
For Asher, TerPoets has given her a community and a creative outlet. “It really was a spot where I could just express myself, where I could be myself and check out the artistic community on campus.”
Asher plans on visiting next year. “I hope it continues to grow but doesn’t lose its charm,” she said.
“She has taught me a lot, but we have also become really great friends,” said sophomore and MC of the program Jonah Potasznik.
Bargeteil, who is already a graduate of the Writers’ House and will be attending New York University in the fall to work on his Ph.D. in physics, has seen TerPoets grow over the years to where it is today, attracting 30 audience members at last night’s show. “When I was a freshman, it made me really hopeful that I could perform in front of people and share my artistic pursuits,” he said. “I was devastated when I first came to TerPoets and there was like six people here and never more than that. Now It means for me that there really are just tons of people who are really interested in doing really interesting, really amazing work.”
While these members will graduate and move on to other ventures, TerPoets remains a close community of lovers of the written word.
