Nico Wilkinson – Brook Bhagat

Celebrating Poetry and Community at Queer Lit Night

December 1, 2025December 1, 2025 Brook Bhagat

The bravest poems are magic. When spoken aloud, they make our armor disappear in thin air. They open our eyes and hearts. Then the next heart finds a voice, and the next. Queer Lit Night, at the PPSC Learning Commons last month, was that kind of magical poetry reading.

The evening included poetry from visiting authors Ashley Cornelius and Nico Wilkinson, faculty members Kenny Idleman and me, and students and community members who shared on the queer open mic. It was an experience of beauty, art, and community I’ll never forget. Thank you so much to everyone who came and helped make it possible, especially Ashley, Nico, Dean Deidre, Cecilia Kruger, Rotimi Ariyo, Laurie Anderson, Amie Sharp, Emily Forand, and Sharon Bjorkman and the Queer Empowerment Club.

Queer Lit Night is On at Pikes Peak State College

October 22, 2025 Brook Bhagat

I’m happy to share that Queer Lit Night has been rescheduled for Wed, Nov 12 from 5-7 pm at the Pikes Peak State College Downtown Learning Commons, 100 W. Pikes Peak Ave, Colorado Springs. The evening will feature readings and performances from two amazing queer writers, Poet Laureate Ashley Cornelius and Nico Wilkinson. I’m the host/organizer/MC, and I’ll read my work as well.

Next, we’ll open up the mic to all LGBTQIA+ voices from PPSC and the larger Colorado Springs community (3-5 min. each- sign up at 4:45 pm). Book signings & sales to follow- meet the authors and learn about student clubs. This event is free and open to the public.

The purpose of Queer Lit Night is to celebrate the creativity and joy of the queer community at PPSC and beyond, and give these voices a platform. Art in all its forms serves to crystallize emotions: when we listen to music or poetry or stories, it becomes easier to laugh, to cry, to hope or rage or dance. Art helps us feel, and it reminds us that we all feel the same things, that we are not alone.

LGBTQIA+ folks, especially young people, suffer higher rates of abuse, addiction, suicide, and hate crimes. Self-expression through visual art, music, writing, theatre, etc. is a kind of magic—it makes us feel alive and helps bring meaning to life. Sharing that art brings the magic to another level and creates community. Seeing queer role models like Ashley Cornelius, Nico Wilkinson, and faculty members sharing their work can be inspirational, showing ways to thrive in a world that does not always welcome us.

Students can share on the mic or just listen and make connections at this event. Ashley and Nico each run local organizations—Poetry 719 and Keep Colorado Springs Queer, respectively—that hold events and gatherings that encourage self-expression. There will be tables where students can learn about PPSC clubs like Spectrum and Queer Empowerment as well. All these organizations provide ways to deepen and maintain connection and community.

Violence is always a failure; it means people have failed to see each other’s humanity. The killing of Charlie Kirk was one such failure. In the wake of this tragedy, which happened just two weeks before Queer Lit Night was planned in September, our event was postponed, like other local and national events, out of an abundance of caution.

Conversely, rescheduling Queer Lit Night feels like a small triumph. It is a sign that we are once again on the path of finding common ground, recognizing and celebrating the light in each of us, the building blocks of making this world a better place.

Slamming Poetry and Facilitating a Surrealism Workshop at the Pikes Peak Poetry Summit

April 17, 2024April 17, 2024 Brook Bhagat

The 3rd annual PPLD Pikes Peak Poetry Summit created by our fabulous Poet Laureate Ashley Cornelius was awesome! I was honored to be invited to facilitate a Surrealism workshop, where we discussed the movement in literature and art and had a blast playing classic Surrealist games like the Exquisite Corpse. I had so many participants that people had to sit on the floor! Later, I participated in my first poetry slam and connected with so many beautiful people, including the amazing poet Nico Wilkinson. We had over 100 attendees– What an incredible day!