A small, excited crowd gathered together at the bar at Mandarin Taste to celebrate the release of the most recent volume of Centripetal, a Plymouth State University sponsored collection of short stories, poems, and artwork written by students and faculty.
The Tuesday night release party was kicked off with the music of local band Damn Near Heroes, acoustic guitar played by Doug Setzler and vocals by Alex Cefalo. The band played three original songs while the growing crowd signed up for readings and enjoyed a small buffet of Chinese food.
The readings began with “Mother at Work”, which appears in the latest issue. As the readings continued, the crowd became engrossed, falling into a respectful silence for the people sharing their work. Each participant had their own style while they read. Some liked to light a cigarette before they began. Others played recordings or used props to add to the effect of what they were expressing.
Most of those in attendance seemed to be regulars, as talk of past readings sprang up during the transition between poets. After the readings were over, most of the crowd remained to have a few drinks and some banter, including Steve Page, a veteran of these events. He said, “I think it went well. Usually we mostly have people read who have submitted, and some nights are really great. But yeah, I think it went well.” Page has been a regular to these readings since the fall of 2004. He and his wife, senior Ivy Page, each read their erotic poems about baked potatoes. Thunderous laughter and applause erupted for each of them.
All in all, the combination of friendly people, creative performances and a side of chicken wings made for a very enjoyable experience. Liz Ahl, an English professor at PSU and contributor to Centripetal, summed up the night the best: “Smokey, but good lit.”