Lyndsey Silveira was holding a bag of garbage when the image struck her.
The Nordic god Odin had taken the shape of a grizzly recycling guy in her mind.
Silveira, a fourth-year history student, went from taking out the trash to writing a poem about a wandering recycling man. She will perform her poem Thursday in Powell Library at the second annual Open Mic Night sponsored by The Writer’s Den, a UCLA creative writing student group.
“Our members really wanted a platform outside of our meetings to read their material without receiving strong feedback,” said Mary Haithcoat, a fourth-year economics student and president of The Writer’s Den. “The Open Mic Night gives them this casual and organic atmosphere where they can approach the mic at will and share their work.”
Haithcoat said The Writer’s Den was originally formed in 2007 as a volunteer group that taught creative writing at a local middle school, but has since developed to support the UCLA literature community. She said members attend meetings to share work varying from science fiction screenplays to memoirs and fellow writers provide constructive criticism and encouragement.
Julia Glassman, a Powell writing librarian, said that literary journal space constraints often prevent editors from publishing a quantity of material. Public readings can then offer an additional outlet for unheard writers.
“Every year studies show national literature demographics to be white male centric,” Glassman said. “Open mic nights can be a really nice way for women, people of color and other marginalized communities to get their voices heard.”
She said that public readings can also give new writers a chance to build confidence and blur the line between “high” and “low” literature for audiences.
“There’s an assumption that all the smart people are reading poetry and everybody else is reading Stephen King,” Glassman said. “When community members come forward to share their own writing, it can minimize the divide between what everybody thinks they should be reading and what they actually want to read.”
Ariel Reider, a second-year English student who will perform in the Open Mic Night said many people undervalue the importance of writing and hopes the event will help dispel those assumptions.
“Writing keeps us human because we collaborate with the author and bring our own emotions and experiences to their world,” Reider said. “We shape ourselves in the process because no two people will read one book the same way.”
Open to all UCLA students, the Open Mic Night will also serve as a way to showcase the winners of the 2015 “What Can You Pen?” writing contest hosted by The Writer’s Den. The competition aimed to celebrate the best in prose and poetry and was co-sponsored by Westwind, UCLA’s student-run journal of the literary arts, receiving more than 50 entries judged by a panel of faculty and students.
Silveira, who garnered an honorable mention in the contest for her mythology-inspired poem, said that listening to readings creates a safe space, which she often encounters as a member of The Writer’s Den.
“Hearing about other people’s life experiences, even if they’re fictionalized, gives a window into what has shaped them,” Silveira said. “The diverse perspectives not only helps us write our own characters but also makes us feel closer to each other.”
Haithcoat said public readings exchange the isolating writer’s experience for a community that shares literary interests.
“Many people study disciplines that are not conducive to writing,” Haithcoat said. “It’s hard to talk to non-writers about writing, so being around people who share the same interests helps.”
Reider said some people solely see writing as a frivolous and mindless activity, but hearing fellow students perform can make audiences find personal value in writing.
“You should go to hear other students just like yourself, to be entertained and also to make your own contribution,” Reider said. “What we see in certain characters can tell us a lot about ourselves.”