Creative Writing Club hosts Open Mic and interview with Cincinnati’s Mercantile Library Poet Laureate on Oct. 25

The Creative Writing Club invites all members of the College community to a “double-header” event on Wednesday, October 25, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The event takes place in the Culinary Demonstration Kitchen (ATLC 043). You can enter the room from the ATLC first floor, across from the Bookstore.

The program starts with a multi-genre “Open Mic,” where students, faculty, or staff members can share original written material. A limited number of presentation slots are available, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Then the club welcomes Yalie Saweda Kamara for an “Inside The Writer’s Studio” discussion.

Dr. Kamara is the Cincinnati and Mercantile Library Poet Laureate, and an Assistant Professor in the English Department at Xavier University.

She will offer insights on the craft of writing and answer questions from the audience.

Dr. Kamara earned a Ph.D. in creative writing and English literature from the University of Cincinnati. A Sierra Leonean-American writer and educator, she is the editor of the anthology What You Need to Know About Me: Young Writers on Their Experience of Immigration. Her poetry collection, Besaydoo, will be published by Milkweed Editions in 2024.

Dr. Kamara has received numerous awards and fellowships for her writing, and she served as a teaching artist and the director of creative youth leadership for WordPlay Cincy.

In between her studies, she has worked in the field of social justice specializing in educational access and arts facilitation. She has lived in France, Brazil, and the US, and has a particularly soft spot for Oakland, Washington DC, Paris, and the Midwest.

For more information, or to sign up for an Open Mic spot, contact club advisor Dr. Ronnie Gladden (ronnie.gladden@cincinnatistate.edu).