The bridge between poetry and community: Poetry Night spring 2025
Colby Craig, Staff Writer
At Poetry Night, students filled the Hayes Ministry Center to take part in sharing poems, prose and other forms of art all for the purpose of sharing in the human experience. Through these mediums, students were able to share ideas, emotions and gain some catharsis.
Poetry Night is an event for students to come together and share all manners of creative works. These works include but are not limited to poetry, visual arts, music and even things like stand-up comedy. It happens once in both fall and spring as major events and are completely student led.
Some of the more popular attractions this year included a ukulele worship ensemble, a bake sale in the back of the room, tables displaying the most recent edition of the Mountain Laurel, wood burned art, photographs and of course coffee.
Many students always look forward to the event and make sure to mark their calendars every semester. First time attendees like NGU student Chase Wilburn are often left with a greater appreciation for poetry too.
“Poetry Night was a space for people to come together and share what they have been working on for classes or for personal growth. It allowed for people to share a piece of who they are with others in a very unique way.”
Poetry Night was always meant to have a heavy impact on students to start a new tradition for the benefits of poetry to pass on to new generations of students.
Gregory Bruce, doctor of interdisciplinary studies, first created the event as a space for students to open up and share their creative works and form a community of students who keep the tradition alive.
“It’s been Poetry Night events and, again, moments when I’ve been alone, but I’ve processed us. So, this movement between I and we, it’s always been important to me, the corporate side of Christianity.”
Bruce chose to keep Poetry Night away from the mandatory event credits that students need so that students who were intentional with their attendance would show up. He believes the greater purpose of creating a community like this is meant to reflect how the church should be.
The church should be a place for members to share ideas and promote support for one another through “breaking the bread of ideas,” Bruce said.
Through his classes and Poetry Night, Bruce has forged a deep relationship with students that benefits everyone involved. He values and nourishes the familial link between himself and his students for the sake of advancing the kingdom and loving others.
“It’s changed my life. So, it’s relationships with students, my family here,” said Bruce.
Poetry Night continues to be an important space for students to express themselves in lieu of the daily stresses of adult life. The next Poetry Night will take place sometime in the Fall of 2026, so be sure to mark your calendar when the official date is announced.
