In the dimly lit hall of Bulger 214 at the unsuspecting hour of 6 p.m. Wednesday, you may find the creative voices of Buffalo State University.
At the Mic Drop Hammer reading series, campus-goers of all ilk are welcome to share their voices — and indulge in free snacks.
Hosted this semester by Professors Mary Beth Sullivan and Joey Nicoletti, Drop Hammer has been around — on and off — for 17 years. The series was started in honor of the late Professor Emanuel Fried, who “left a legacy ensuring students have a place to share their voice,” according to Nicoletti.
Drop Hammer, previously taking place in a third-floor room in Ketchum Hall, attracted mainly English and writing majors.
Nicoletti and Sullivan’s mission is to “take it back to its roots, to make it inclusive in a way it hadn’t been in a while.”
Thus, the larger, more central location of Bulger 214.
In the course of this past Wednesday’s reading, listeners were treated to striking, existentialist poems and prose about death and the afterlife, a heartfelt song on ukulele, a tribute to Dennis Williams, and moving poems about missing and murdered Indigenous women and the Mexican-American college student experience. Readers also shared poems by others that they found inspiring.
Attendees may sign up to read in advance or volunteer after other sign-ups, or just listen and enjoy the array of snacks the hosts have brought. Sullivan espoused the importance of providing snacks when trying to get undergrads to attend events.
The next reading, Mic Drop is Lit, will be on May 6th at 2:30 in E.H. Butler Library, near the Starbucks.
