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It wasn't the usual pizza and sandwich night at Pizza Junkiez on Kokomo's south side Jan. 27 as the Indiana Poetry Society held its Poetry Open Mic Night for local writers and poets.

The gathering of about 20 sat enthralled by the several artists who stood in front of the mic, reciting their verse and personal thoughts to the group.

"I just heard about it on Facebook," said Mashilah Powell, who recited her poem entitled "Shine" to the assembled group.

Seth Sorrell a member of the Poetry Society of Indiana, and a prolific YouTuber that helped promote Saturday's open mic, spoke about the group and planned upcoming events, " We have open mic nights...poetry workshops, and rendezvous all over the State. We are actually having a poetry workshop at the Kokomo Public Library downtown branch."

According to their website, The Poetry Society of Indiana (PSI) is the state of Indiana’s official poetry organization. PSI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, whose mission is both educational and literary. Their goal is to "unite and support Indiana poets, promote poetry writing, and encourage diverse poetic voices in Indiana through a variety of educational and artistic events and opportunities."

"I'm hoping to do more open mic nights in the future here in Kokomo," stated Sorrell.

Anyone interested in the Poetry Society of Indiana's open mic nights or future educational workshops can contact the society on their website https://www.poetrysocietyofindiana.org.