ADA, Okla. – Seven East Central University English majors were featured at the Wednesday Night Poetry in Hot Springs, Ark.
An event that began Feb. 1, 1989, Wednesday Night Poetry has continued for more than 36 years. The event, which serves as an open-mic, reached its 1,883 consecutive Wednesday night when ECU’s students were asked to participate in downtown Hot Springs.
Students who contributed to the event include Addison Guinn, Madison Ham, Jayde Landreth, Kris Marc, Canaan Miller, Megan Moss and Cathlena Spencer. Accompanying the students were ECU faculty, Dr. Ken Hada and Chloe Lefevers, both of the ECU English Department.
The host of the weekly event, poet Kai Coggin, was featured in the 2024 Scissortail Creative Writing Festival and has collaborated with Hada on multiple occasions, allowing for this opportunity to highlight and feature seven of ECU’s own aspiring writers and two of its professionals.
“I’m very proud of our students who performed magnificently,” said Hada. “It’s exciting to see them move to the next level in their development as creative writers.”
Discussing the experience she shared with her classmates, Landreth stated, “The Wednesday Night Poetry trip was a powerful experience for me as both a writer and a student. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share my poetry for the first time in such a welcoming and accepting environment. The trip to Hot Springs deeply inspired me. I loved having the chance to reflect on my writing while I connected with others through our work.”
Miller, who also attended the event, added, “The Hot Springs trip was an awesome experience. Being surrounded by so many talented poets and authors in our department and at Hot Springs was inspiring and left me excited to see what my fellow students will achieve in their literary futures. The amount of talent that these individuals have is incredible and I am happy I was able to witness a part of it. Kai Coggin and the open mic they host is an amazing environment filled with talented people, and I hope to return in the future.”
The James Harris Travel Fund provides support for faculty and students in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) to visit important sites, conferences, and activities in their chosen professional fields. Faculty submit applications each fall and spring; a committee comprised of the department chairs in CLASS make selections based on the educational opportunities described in the proposal. Dr. James Harris was a prominent Professor of History at ECU in the 1970s-80s.