Students Read at First Literature Evening of the Term

On Wednesday, September 17th, the Bennington College literature department hosted its first literature evening of the term: an open-mic reading featuring 17 students. The event, held in the DownCaf of the Student Center, drew a full crowd of students, faculty, and friends for a warm welcome back to the literature evening event series. 

Students signed up for reading slots in advance and were each allotted five minutes for their reading. Per usual, primarily poetry was read. Four students shared fiction, while the other 13 presented poetry. The reading was open-genre and the host, literature faculty Franny Choi, welcomed all kinds of writing—“poetry, fiction, fanfiction, friendfiction—anything.” The evening served as the first event Choi has hosted since coming back from sabbatical last term– “I know you missed me,” they quipped at the beginning of the night. 

The evening opened with readings from the literature department’s two SEPC representatives, junior Willow Olrich and senior Nicholas Bonifas. Students who wish to receive further communications from the literature department and SEPC representatives can sign up to receive the email newsletter via this link. 

For many students, open-mics serve as a workshop space for them to test out and workshop new work in front of an audience. Many students shared work inspired by the first few weeks of their literature and reading & writing courses to the fond amusement of attending faculty. Between readers, Choi reminded the room, “It’s scary to get up and read”, and even practiced the perfect, approving “hm” that she encouraged students to express when they found the work to be striking. 

Crowded in DownCaf, the community created a welcoming, intimate space that reminded them of the purpose of these student readings: celebrating the unique literary voices of Bennington. As the literature department and community at large looks ahead to the term, this first literature evening of the fall 2025 series offered a powerful reminder that the department is so strongly sustained by the students.

Keep an eye out for the forthcoming literature evenings of the fall 2025 term including visits from poet Lisa Olstein, poets Vievee Francis and Matthew Olzmann, poet Joyelle McSweeney, and novelist Jonas Hassen Khemiri. Literature evenings all take place on Wednesday evenings at 7pm.