Tag: Pikes Peak State College

Celebrating Poetry and Community at Queer Lit Night

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.

Literary Reading and Grand Opening Celebration for the PPSC Authors Collection Features Poet Laureate

Brook Bhagat

A lovely time was had by all at the literary reading and grand opening of the Pikes Peak State College Authors Collection, a special collection in the college library of books by PPSC students, staff, and faculty. I was honored to read alongside Colorado Poet Laureate Bobby LeFebre and PPSC authors Michelle Harris, M.R. Hyde, and Jason Dias. Special thanks to artist Connor Dias and librarian Larissa Powers, who made this unique collection and memorable event possible!

Poetry and Advocacy: Know Your Rights Workshop, Student/Faculty Reading, and Poet Laureate Bobby LeFebre at PPSC

Brook Bhagat

Creation and empathy are intertwined, two branches on the same tree. Poets and artists have always been at the forefront of movements for justice and social change. Now more than ever, creatives are speaking up and speaking out. As the organizer and MC of the Pikes Peak State College Spring Student/Faculty/Nearby Universe Reading and Visiting Writers’ Series Event, I am honored to amplify their voices.

The Creative Writing Program and Latino Alliance are thrilled to welcome Colorado Poet Laureate Emeritus Bobby LeFebre on Thursday, March 20, at the Downtown Campus’s Studio West, 22 North Sierra Madre St. in Colorado Springs, for a multicultural night of poetry and prose.

The evening begins with a Know Your Rights and Advocacy Workshop and reception courtesy of Student Experience and Equity from 5-6 pm, followed by the Student/Faculty/Nearby Universe Reading and open mic from 6-7 pm. Finally, from 7-8 pm, Bobby LeFebre takes the stage!

LeFebre is an award-winning writer, performer, and cultural worker fusing a non-traditional multi-hyphenated professional identity to imagine new realities, empower communities, advance arts and culture, and serve as an agent of provocation, transformation, equity, and social change. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Huffington Post, The Guardian, American Theater Magazine, and NPR. He has performed at hundreds of cultural events, social actions, detention centers, conferences, and colleges and universities across the United States and abroad.LeFebre co-founded the award-winning nonprofit organization Café Cultura and was named Colorado’s 8th Poet Laureate, making him the youngest and first person of color to be appointed to the prestigious position in the program’s 100-year history.

Multilingual poets and writers welcome! Students and faculty can email Brook.Bhagat@PikesPeak.edu to get on the schedule to read their work (1-3 min. each). PPSC welcomes all members of the community–please contact the English Department for accommodations.