If you didn’t know any better, you might have thought upon entering Smith Campus Center’s basement for the Mouth to Mouth open mic in the early evening of Friday, October 12 that you were hanging out in someone’s den. With about a hundred of your closest friends. And a bluegrass band. With a stage set up in the middle of the room and a wine server.

While the parallels fall a bit short, there was definitely a homey, comfortable feeling in the air throughout the event, sponsored by Mightier Than the Sword, SMAC, and the Women’s Union. Set up with lots of comfy couches all facing a makeshift stage, behind which hung batiked sarongs, the event promoted an atmosphere conducive to students getting up and sharing their innermost writings with a group of their peers.

The format of the open mic was fairly simple–there were prearranged readers at the beginning, each of whom introduced the next performer, followed by an open mic open to anyone who signed up at the beginning of the evening. After a brief introduction by co-organizer Kristen Kearns ’02, senior Neil Betrando took the (slightly rickety) stage and started things with a bang by reading "Simply One Perspective" which used a dizzying pattern of partial rhymes to convey its message to the reader. Claire Becker ‘03’s poems were more quiet and understated–"May-September" commented that "today grew like gray hair on clear stones."

Though the majority of pieces read were poetry, the loose nature of the open mic made for free expression. Joseph Jordan ’02 announced that he was performing a monologue, and then proceded to light up a cigarette and launch into "Two Obsessions" in which he mused about two great obsessions–the Boston Red Sox and a girl named Emily. "The thing about obsessions is you don’t get to choose them. If you got to choose them, they wouldn’t be obsessions," he said. "Obsessions must always be unattainable."

Kearns read two pieces of short fiction, both untitled and both illuminating the seemingly everyday interactions between couples. Coming up after Jordan and Kearns, Jon Korn ’02 remarked that he "felt like Don Knotts coming up after Deniro and Meryl Streep" and then promptly launched into a vivid prose poem.

Andres Lopez ’04 thrilled the audience with a three-song set on his acoustic guitar. Being a sponsor came in handy for Lopez, whose sizeable built-in fan club arrived just in time to hear "The Nice Song," "The Mean Song," and "The Cheating Song" which painfully details Lopez’s brief foray into criminal activity with his cheating on the geography portion of the state-wide standardized test when he was in fourth grade.

Before realizing it, the two hours had gone by and co-organizer Jess Pohly ’02 was on stage thanking everyone for coming and reminding them that this was the first in a series of Mouth to Mouth open mics, and to expect "three or four more this semester." Helping organize Mouth to Mouth is Pohly’s project for the Women’s Union, and one of her goals with the series is to empower. "For me as a woman it’s been really important to have a voice," she said. "There’s so much talent on the campus, [but] it’s so academic here." With Mouth to Mouth, Pohly hopes to encourage those closet writers to share their work.

Though the name Mouth to Mouth is new, an open mic has been in the works for a long time. Regan Douglass, who’s been influential in the planning and putting on of such an event, explained that the concept of an open mic "started last year as a result of a writing retreat at Halona that was open to all." Last spring, a similar event was organized, though without the name Mouth to Mouth, and it was such a success that the idea expanded into a regular series this year.

There certainly seems to be an upswing in the interest in poetry and creative writing in the last year or so at Pomona. Kearns, who runs Mightier Than the Sword, a creative writing group that meets once a week to workshop each other’s work, as well as produces Passwords, the five-college literary magazine that puts out an issue each semester, sees a definite growth in creative writing activities on Pomona’s campus. "When I was a freshman there wasn’t a lot going on [at Pomona]," Kearns said. "There were a lot of open mics at Pitzer but not really any here." One of Kearns’ goal with the Mouth to Mouth series is to expand beyond just the normal poetry reading. "I wanted to do something that combined poetry and creative writing." It’s a goal she has for Passwords as well, which was started because Mightier

Than the Sword had Pagemaker "and we wanted to start a magazine."

Kearns also sees the expansion of the English department’s creative writing program as another sign that poetry and creative writing are on the rise at Pomona. Also an English department liason, Kearns feels that "the department is formalizing the creative writing program" with the additions of the Roy G. Disney chair which will be filled by David Foster Wallace and guest professors such as Janet Fitch. When forming Mightier Than the Sword last year, Kearns found the process relatively smooth. "The English department has always been supportive…the biggest obstacle was getting money [from the Senate]," she said. "But after the first semester, when it saw we knew what we were doing, it was really receptive." By helping run Mouth to Mouth and publishing Passwords, Kearns hopes to provide a creative forum for those who can’t take creative writing classes. "It’s hard to find time to write when there’s no incentive," she said.

That incentive to write is exactly what Douglass is looking to instill with Mouth to Mouth, who sees it as a success "if it inspires people to write." Editor of The Re-View, a five-college feminist magazine, Douglass sees the key to Mouth to Mouth as its encouragment of expression from all. "There are a lot of places for people to impart their wisdom to you," she said. "Mouth to Mouth is a collaborative effort…you often don’t get a chance to hear work read aloud."

Douglass also has noticed a Renaissance of sorts for creative writing and expression on Pomona’s campus. "More and more people are doing the writing emphasis [English major] and media studies is an emerging field here at Pomona…[creative writing and media studies] bounce off each other."

For Pohly, the greatest outcome of Mouth to Mouth is getting a chance to see the diverse and oft-hidden talents of Pomona students. "Take Andres Lopez…Mouth to Mouth is where we get to find out about people like him," she said. "What else is going on this Friday night?"

Mouth to Mouth will be having another reading within the next several weeks. If you’re interesting in reading, contact Jess Pohly. Passwords is accepting submissions until October 26. The Re-view will take your poetry, black and white art, essays, and fiction until November 1. With so many places to submit work and read original writing on campus, it’s hard to find a reason not to.