Before the bars open up on Saturday, Luna Negra magazine will be hosting a free Dead Poet’s Society reenactment, open to the public.

The Dead Poet’s Society open-mic poetry reading is taking place at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26 at the gazebo on the corner of W. Main Street and Franklin Street. The event is open to anyone who wishes to bring a poem to read. In case of snow, the event will be moved to Last Exit Books, located at 124 E. Main Street in Kent.

“This [event] is just a Halloween-themed open-mic reading to give people a chance to kind of hang out and share their work in sort of a fun way before the [Luna Negra] submissions deadline on Nov. 1,” said Angel Mack, Editor-In-Chief of Luna Negra.

Mack is going to open up the event by reciting the poem from “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau, the poem that opens the meetings in the movie “Dead Poet’s Society.”

“This (event) is going to be dope,” said Nick Fuller, staff writer for Luna Negra. “It’s going to be pretty fun… It’s like drunk night and everyone’s going to be going wild.”

This event was the brainchild of Mack, in attempt to gain some exposure to Luna Negra Magazine’s upcoming submissions deadline on Friday, November 1. Submissions needed are poems, essays, illustrations and photos. Poems are eligible to win the Peace and War Poetry Scholarship. Scholarship sponsor John Kusnir will also be present at Saturday’s event, according to Mack.

“You will laugh, you will laugh, you will laugh and you will be scared,” Kusnir said. “If (attendees) entertain, they will be rewarded.”

At the event, Kusnir will also be providing door prizes, and a $100 prize for the funniest poem.

“I think it’s wonderful that the students of Luna Negra are putting on this event. It’s a way to celebrate both Halloween, in a very creative and exciting way, and also bringing poetry to an environment that … well, poetry should be everywhere I think,” said Nicole Robinson, Faculty Adviser for Luna Negra Magazine and Outreach Manager for Wick Poetry Center.

Contact Alexandra Taylor at [email protected].