Michael Teig & An Open Mic

If it’s not blindingly obvious by now, we love to see poets and writers and artists and musicians strutting their stuff on our bookstore stage (and y’all seem to rather enjoy it too). And what makes hosting an event even more rewarding? Hosting it in partnership with an awesome local organization! This past week, we’ve been positively spoilt for charming community collaborators…

Michael Teig

On Thursday we teamed up with the University of Texas at Austin’s New Writers Project to host poet extraordinaire Michael Teig (pictured above). When Dean Young says your poems are “deft as an owl landing in a blossoming cherry tree,” well, we expect very big things—and Michael definitely did not disappoint.

Shaniqua Esparza

Gene Rodgers

And yesterday afternoon we were thrilled to partner with VSA Texas (The State Organization on Arts and Disability) and the Pen2Paper Creative Writing Contest (a project of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities) to host a warm and welcoming open mic for writers and musicians. We had a great turnout, and the performers (including Shaniqua Esparza and CTD member Gene Rodgers, pictured above) brought a ton of talent and energy to Malvern’s mushroom-wood stage.

Check out the footage below for a taste of our eventful week, and be sure to visit our YouTube channel for more!