The Tribeca branch of Barnes & Noble hosted a Stuyvesant open mic event from 3:00 to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8. English teacher Holly Weiss’s junior poetry class and two other Stuyvesant students participated in the event.

Open mic is a scheduled event where students read or perform their work during an allotted time frame. The open mic held at Barnes and Noble was not affiliated with the Stuyvesant Open Mic that is held in the library.

The event was coordinated in conjunction with the Parents’ Association (PA) book fundraiser, where 10 percent of the gross sales from SAT and ACT preparation book purchases were donated to the PA. The fundraiser took place on Tuesday, April 8 to Thursday, April 10.

Twelve students read either poetry or prose. English teachers Annie Thoms, Vito Bonsignore, Jonathan Weil, Assistant Principal English Eric Grossman and friends of the participating students attended the event.

“[The event] was a great way for some of our writers’ voices to be heard and it was nice to bring the Stuy writing community into the public eye,” Weiss said.

“It was a really nice experience, because students got to read stuff they [have] been working on, and in a more public environment,” junior Sammy Sussman said.

“I was really impressed with both the quality of the writing that I heard and with the spirit of the community and fun that I felt,” Grossman said.

Barnes & Noble Relations Manager Carolyn Hughes offered PA Fundraising co-chair Dave Gibson to host an open mic at Barnes and Noble during the days of the book fundraiser.

According to Parent Coordinator Harvey Blumm, Barnes & Noble is trying to build its relationship with the Tribeca community.

Barnes & Noble also hosted a PA fundraiser from Wednesday, December 12 to Friday, December 14, where the PA earned 10 to 15 percent of all gross sales, and hosted a Stuyvesant and Learning Leaders sponsored holiday gift wrapping event from Monday, December 17 to Monday, December 24.

“Part of my role as parent coordinator is to connect Stuyvesant to community resources,” Blumm said. “Building up a relationship with local companies, such as Barnes & Noble, is a great way to do that.”

“B&N is a socially proactive company committed to literacy and to helping schools raise much needed funds,” Gibson said in the December issue of The Spectator.

Due to the success of the event, the English department hopes to hold more open mics at Barnes & Noble in the future.

“We are hoping, and there have been talks, about having readings, book fairs in the fall and spring of next year,” Hughes wrote in an e-mail interview. “I would be delighted if that happened as Stuyvesant has one of the most dynamic student bodies in the city.”