“Writing Wrongs Poetry Slam is a weekly open mic and slam series dedicated to building a safe and honest space for people to share their work. Our goal is to create an environment that promotes diversity as we attempt to better ourselves as poets, performers, and people.”
I am the curator of Writing Wrongs Poetry, a weekly poetry open mic and slam series in Columbus. This show has allowed me to network with poets from around the country in order to have them join our show as featured readers. It has taught me the importance of leadership in creating a sustainable community that brings something special to each member of it. This show has challenged me to create a social media presence as well as a website in order to keep the show reaching for new poets and patrons.
I am often the emcee for the show, helping facilitate the open mic and keep our patrons entertained. I also handle all of our finances to help pay our featured readers, sponsor our national teams and even create new shows.
We have started several regular shows in the Columbus area to serve various communities:
The Columbus Queer Open Mic is a monthly show that is backed by Writing Wrongs and reaches to give a space for our LGBTQ community to have a voice.
Fire Forged Poetry is a monthly show held at Fortin Ironworks that aims to give back to our community by fundraising for various community organizations around Columbus. Each month, a featured reader chooses somewhere to donate the proceeds and all of the donations collected at the door are given to that organization.
Rogue Poetry is a partnership with (not) Sheep Gallery and Caren Peterson. This quarterly show aims to bring poetry into an art space that is built to be as political as possible, raising the stakes for art in our community.
Other Responsibilities Include:
- Maintaining the website, updating it weekly
- Keeping the Twitter account active and informative to our patrons
- Finding venues for our show and facilitating moves if required
- Raising funds for us to send competitors to national competitions with Poetry Slam Inc.
- Reviewing and approving social media campaigns
Ethan Rivera 