Event precedes Cheshyre Cheese open mic night.
By Priscilla Galarza
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Fifty students turned out to hear four published poets read their work dedicated to women during a Women’s History Month event March 26 in the Fiesta Room of Loftin Student Center.
This year celebrates the 35th anniversary of the celebration of Women’s History Month.
The first Women’s History Day took place on March 8,1980, when President Jimmy Carter declared it a national history week in America.
This year the theme of Women’s History Month is “Weaving the Story of Women’s Lives,” according to the website of the National Women’s History Project at nwhp.org.
Sheila Black opened the event with an original poem from her published poetry collection called “Turning Your Pillow to Find the Cold Side,” which shared a story of women in love and the experiences they face.
In between readings, poet Gerard Robledo gave feedback and his experiences with the poets.
He said he was pleasantly surprised at the size of the audience.
Following Black was Marian Haddad, an El Paso native and published poet who read poems about her mother’s struggles through motherhood.
Laurie Ann Guerrero, San Antonio poet laureate, read poems about beauty and facing fear.
Leah Gomez, former student and contributor to Voices de la Luna, a poetry and arts magazine, read her original work.
Her poems referenced women in Hispanic culture and the trials of being a woman in the past and present.
Although the poetry reading was honoring women, the speakers were not limited to female poets.
Joe Jimenez read poems of self-discovery from his book “The Possibilities of Mud.”
Among the crowd was communications sophomore Jocelynn Mireles.
“I love to see women succeed and send a message to girls that says ‘you can do it too,’” Mireles said.
This reading inspired students to follow their creativity and do what they love, she said.
The poetry reading was recorded and publicly broadcast on educational television INTV’s “Poets Corners.”
Following the authors’ reading, an open mic night was held by the Cheshyre Cheese Club.
