October 21, 2021, the English department had its fall semester virtual open mic poetry night, hosted by creative writing professor Thomas Fucaloro. Poets both young and old gathered together on Zoom to read and perform their work.
The evening included two honored guests from the New York community, Omar Holman and Peggy Robles-Alvarado, who headlined the event. Omar has published a book of poems entitled We Were All Someone Else Yesterday and a book of essays with Will Evans called Black Nerd Problems, that follows up on their popular website with the same name. Peggy, a three-time Latino book award winner, has published several books including Conversations with My Skin, Homage to the Warrior Woman, and the Abuela Stories Project. Most recently, she curated an anthology of work by thirteen women, Mujeres, the Magic, the Movement and the Muse, inspired by the ancient teachings of the Taino, Lukumi, and Palo traditions.
Omar and Peggy kicked off the evening with a tag-team back and forth, responding to each other with poetry. They then invited Wagner students and professors to join in. What transpired was a joyful evening, a variety of styles of expression, and a sincere sharing of some deeply personal feelings.