There is something quietly mystical about a bookstore that opens its doors and says, come in, read, be heard.
On a recent evening in Bothell, Wanderlust Bookstore hosted the Gamut literary club of the University of Washington, Bothell, for a public reading. The room teemed with MFA students, regulars, and a handful of curious neighbors folding into their chairs, and what followed was the kind of night that reminds you why literary spaces matter. The words, the applause, and the community are what every writer and artist is craving for. A space that’s not only inspiring but also an outlet to share ideas without fear.
The evening commenced with poems about life in today’s America, written and performed by Erik Keevan, Gamut Literary Club’s president. His poems took a journey from the mundane to a personal, gentle poem he wrote for his sister. The tenderness of the poem stayed with the audience with a stillness of heart.
You Should Know, a narrative poem about a wedding, was sharp, funny, and astute, performed with Marika Radlauer to everyone’s delight and met with well-earned laughter. There was an audible shift when Erica Renee Moore shared work from a project she had completed in just one day: a full collection of poems accompanied by horse drawings. The ambition and execution drew a unified gasp from the audience.
Payton French’s The Water Is Still Rising left the room speechless. Her piece portrayed the overlapping experiences involving loss and recovery, speaking to the aftermath of a flood alongside the vulnerability of undergoing surgery. It was tender without pulling away from difficulty. A sequence of poems read by Angelica Urquizo carried the audience through different emotional terrains, from the familiar setting of a laundromat to more abstract, lyrical spaces. Her final piece lingered, landing like a chord held just a second longer than expected.
Vitoria Ramos’s work unfolded more subtly, her poems carrying a sensual fire that settled in gradually, the way certain songs stay with you long after they end. Murk33, a regular in the Wanderlust X Gamut community, read Oh to Feed a Baby Honey. The piece was gentle but forceful, and its effect rippled through the room in audible applause.
What stood out most that night wasn’t simply the variety of voices, but how they were welcomed. The room was attentive, with everyone willing to listen closely and take in each piece. As a writer, I’ve stood before my peers and shared my work, always met with kindness and grace. Reading my poems aloud has strengthened my voice, turning quiet words into something living and audible. The applause and thoughtful feedback have become a quiet anchor, drawing me back to the open mic again and again.
Spaces like Wanderlust make it possible for emerging writers and literary students to share work in progress, to stand in front of strangers, and to be met with something generous rather than guarded. That kind of environment doesn’t happen by accident. It’s shaped over time by the people who show up for the books, for the writers, and for each other
For anyone who writes, or anyone who simply loves to listen, it’s worth going into that room.
— Shyama, Clamor Spring 2026 Editor
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