No Valentine’s Day plans? No worries — Shippensburg University’s undergraduate journal of the arts, The Reflector, has you covered.
After hosting a successful Halloween-themed open mic at the Shippensburg Arts Programming and Education (SHAPE) Gallery in October, the gallery’s board of directors invited The Reflector back for a similar poetry event tailored to the upcoming holiday — Valentine’s Day, said Amber Pound, who is a senior at SU and The Reflector’s editor-in-chief. The event is titled “Post-Love” and will take place on Friday at the SHAPE Gallery from 5-7 p.m.
Getting to the heart of February’s lovey-dovey nature, “Post-Love” will free the feelings of love, longing and loneliness that Feb. 14 brings by encouraging attendees to vocalize how they feel through poems, dramas or prose. While the event focuses on the emotions that Valentine’s Day evokes, The Reflector is not limiting the open mic topic to love in its unequivocal sense, because everyone experiences and writes about love differently.
“The event will be a good opportunity for students and community members to have their voices be heard,” Pound said. “For some, this may even be the first time they read their work out loud for a group of people to hear, but it’ll be a welcoming crowd.”
Extending the event’s appreciation and celebration of creative writing onto other art forms, The Reflector will encourage individuals to observe local artist Ashley Coover’s eclectic “Ionospheric Creations” art exhibit that is currently on display at the SHAPE Gallery.
“Below the individual artworks will be writing prompts that will get people thinking about the art and how they can use it as an inspiration,” Pound said.
Tyler Michael Law, an SU student and indie-folk musician, will also be performing a short set list to keep the gallery in lively spirits between heart-wrenching poetry readings and refreshment breaks.
“It’s going to be a great night of celebrating the arts,” Pound said. “And did I mention we will have chocolate? Lots of chocolate.”
Image 1: Halloween costumes “The Reflector”
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