By Kevyn Price
Pen and Sword and BUKnighted will sponsor an open-mic night centered on pride and identity on March 11.
Nicola Peck, Pen and Sword co-president, said this event is meant to be a discussion about the intersection of identity and how it affects what people write about and what people read. It will also allow people to share their personal experiences.
Peck said that she is interested to hear other people’s perspectives. “I am excited to learn about people in a more intimate nature through the stories that their work tells,” Peck said.
Participants will have the opportunity to share their own work or others’ work and then discuss topics based on the LGBTQ+ community and literature.
Ariana Alvarado, Pen and Sword co-president, said that she is most excited about the discussion.
“I am just excited to have an event where we have people talk. Usually, we have people share their work and move on, but we don’t really get to discuss it. So, having people talk about what impacts their work, and then sharing their work, so we can see that happen—I like the idea of that,” Alvarado said.
Peck said Pen and Sword Public Relations Director Sophie Wesseler developed this idea for an identity-based event because of Bellarmine’s Pride Month in January. This event has been in the planning stage since January, and now it is finally able to happen. The event was first scheduled for Feb. 10 but was rescheduled because of bad weather.
BUKnighted President Jordan Stacy said that he is intrigued to see what the people will bring to read and how the conversation goes because it is BUKnighted’s first open-mic night.
“It is really not a lot that we can plan for other that just have a stage for people ready for whatever they want to express that day,” Stacy said.
The event will be in Frazier Hall and on Zoom at 6:30 p.m. For more information about the event or to participate, email Nicola Peck at npeck@bellarmine.edu