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The Wick Poetry Center held the Celebrating Our Own Poetry Reading and Open Mic on Thursday, Oct. 3. The reading started at 7:30 p.m. in the Wick Poetry Corner on the 2nd floor of Kent State’s University Library.

The event was held to celebrate the 2019 Undergraduate Poetry Scholarship winners, who were all invited to read their poems. Max Lizanich was the first place winner, with his poem “When We Packed up the House,” Carrie George was second place, with her poem “To My Mother and To Yours,” and Cameron Gorman, who was unable to attend the reading, won third, with her poem “coventry.” The scholarship is an annual, nonrenewable scholarship open to all undergraduate students currently enrolled at ������. Submissions for the 2020 scholarship will open in December. 

An open mic followed the scholarship winner reading, where many members of the Kent community shared and celebrated their poetry. The reading included many new and familiar voices to the poetry community, from Kent State freshman and graduate students to Wick Poetry Center Interns to Kent community members. 

Dorisha Hendrix, a Wick intern and newly published author of , commented on how great it was to see so many different people come together to celebrate one thing they all had in common–poetry. 

“Seeing everyone in the community express their emotions through poetry brought tears to my eyes,” she said. “It was very emotional. There were so many different age groups represented, showing that through poetry we are all connected despite the stage of life we are at. The community provided an excellent opportunity for those who spoke to be vulnerable with their message.”