On Nov. 13, the Stay Gallery held their monthly slam poetry night. This event was attended by a group of familiar faces who joined together to read their poems that had been published in the book of Lummox Press, who has allowed the poetry community to have a chance at getting their poems published since 1993.

The night was run by publisher and editor-in-chief, R.D. Armstrong, who has been writing poetry since the age of 15.

“When I first began writing poetry, all my poems were full of angst and about current events,” Armstrong said. “It wasn’t until later on in life, that I began to write about my own experiences.”

First time reader at the Stay Gallery, Robert Rodriguez, read his poem titled “Collision,” which described the hardships that made him who he is today.

“It describes me,” Rodriguez said about his poem. “As a child, I had no voice and poetry really helped me find my voice as well as find myself.”

Rodriguez began his writing on a rough slate, getting denied for the poems he believed to be worthy of being published. It wasn’t until he almost gave up that he received an opportunity to be recognized for his writing.

“It’s funny how the poems that you don’t think much of, are the ones that people can relate to the most,” Rodriguez said.

First time poetry listener, Claudia Gomez wandered into Stay Gallery on Thursday night and found herself at a poetry reading.

“It was something new,” Gomez said. “The poetry was beautiful and relaxing. I really felt like I could relate to what most of them were speaking of.”

Stay Gallery hosts this open mic Poetry Matters event every second Thursday of each month and is welcome to new readers and listeners.