Students shared their creative work at an open mic night hosted by the student arts journal on Thursday.

The coffeehouse, part of a monthly series, allowed audience members to perform on stage in front of a live audience, many for the first time.

Students may perform “if you have any type of art that you like to create,” Tomi Brunton, a third-year creative writing student and managing editor of Amaranth, said, “whether it be poetry, short stories or music. All sorts of things. It’s a great way to try that out with a friendly audience.”

Brunton performed three poems during the coffeehouse. One focused on trying to find points of connection with older relatives during the holidays, While the other two focused on injury and healing. 

“My favorite part about coming to it is seeing people, you know, break out of their shells,” Aaila Syeda, a second-year creative writing student, said. “Writers are pretty shy, so when I see them on stage, you know, sharing their piece with the world, it’s … so fulfilling to see that.”

 “We have someone sharing dad jokes,” Julissa Mendoza Robles, a second-year creative writing student, said. “And we have people sharing songs and all that.”

Mendoza Robles added, “This year I decided I wanted to perform a longer story that I am writing about this group of girls who DJ. … I feel like I’ve gotten good reactions from people about it. I think people really love strong women characters.”

“I decided to join in at the last minute,” Steve Vo, a second-year film student, said. “It was fun. …I would love to see more.”