Tom O’Shea began hosting the “Pizza & Poetry” event last year in his self-owned guitar shop in the hopes of providing a space and incentive for people of the community to come and listen to poetry.
“We need to have ways of getting people together intellectually and culturally,” O’Shea said. “That aren’t driven either by a need to do it for school or a need to be drinking or trying to meet a soulmate. ... Pizza is important. There might be people who want to come, but wouldn’t go out of their way if it weren’t for some kind of incentive.”
O’Shea has been an instructor at Auburn for approximately 15 years following prior teaching positions at Tuskegee University and Springhill College. This semester will mark the second year of the monthly “Pizza & Poetry” event held in the Guitar Shoppe off of East Glenn Avenue. In the past, the event has gathered a crowd of as many as 60 people with around 30 present for the one this past Sunday.
Students, professors, graduates, high school students and members of the local community all gathered to eat pizza and listen to members of the audience read their poetry, or in once case even sing, at the open mic.
Wes, who is working on a Ph.D. in exercise science or “a degree in jogging,” as he joked on the makeshift stage, read aloud four of his poems, all well received by the crowd including his original works “The Human Embodiment of the Lie,” “Kant’s Dare” and “Temporary Residence.”
There were also a few self-published poets reading from their works. Turner Duraski, a student at Auburn, read from his book It’s always raining somewhere including the title poem of the work.
Ian Shannon, majoring in environmental design, read aloud his haiku “Love” from his book For the Love of Coffee that said: “Love can be bitter/ or surprisingly sweet./I prefer coffee.” He has attended a few of the events in the past and says he’s looking forward to attending more in the future.
Richard Trammell, a recent graduate of Auburn, also shared his poems “Slaves in time,” “Dark Skin” and “Surely” for the first time at the gathering.
For aspiring poets, O’Shea reminds, “It’s important to be heard. And one of the best ways to figure out what works and what doesn’t can be found in public readings.”
The next date for the “Pizza & Poetry” event is set tentatively for Sept. 25, with the official date being announced on the Guitar Shoppe Facebook page and flyers posted on bulletin boards throughout campus.
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