Christina O'Connor | Special to The Roanoke Times

Gina Feralino Beasley (right), reads excerpts from her book proposal, including quotes from memorial walls that were erected just after the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech.

BLACKSBURG -- Alison Wood stood at the helm of the narrow room lined with book shelves. Outside it, the whir of a blender and the buzz of disjointed conversation. In the small room, stark silence.

She gave a brief disclaimer.

"This poem doesn't mean that I'm not sad," Wood told the shifting crowd of 15. "It just means, that, like a lot of people, I've found there's more to grief than sadness."

The 20-year-old launched into a spirited reading of "Here Goes Nothing," a poem she composed to memorialize her friend Ryan "Stack" Clark, who died in the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech.

"I'm angry at you," she spouted. "I'm angry at you for making me taste that word: death."

The range of emotion in the poem resonated with Marilyn Perkins, who read five poems from her book, "Nothing but the Word."

"I can relate," Perkins told Wood as she leaned into the microphone. She spoke about the death of a spouse when she was 34. "Peace does come," she reassured Wood.

For many, peace came in the form of poetry and togetherness Tuesday night, when Honoring Experiences, Reflections and Expressions, or HERE, sponsored its fourth event since April 16: an open mic at Easy Chair Bookstore in Blacksburg.

The group was started shortly after the shootings by staff and volunteers at the Lyric Theatre and grew to encompass members of local churches, nonprofits and community members, said Andy Morikawa, a member of the group.

Members seek to create events in which the community can come together to heal and express itself creatively.

"What the group wanted to do was essentially claim the experience in a way that was affirming," Morikawa said. "The better we understand ourselves, the stronger we'll be."

The past six months, HERE members hosted a community ice cream social, a photography exhibit and a showing of Martin Doblmeier's film "The Power of Forgiveness."

HERE member Shannon Turner spearheaded Tuesday's open mic and opened it by reading one of her poems.

"Remember when 'it's good to see you' didn't mean 'I'm glad you're alive'?" she read.

Turner reminded the audience that several members of Communities Healing After Tragedy, another group formed in the wake of the tragedy to assist with mental health needs, were on hand if anyone needed to talk.

Other readers included Gina Ferolino Beasley, who shared a portion of a book she's been working on about April 16. She wrote and spoke of the candles, mementos and figurines adorning the memorial site on Tech's Drillfield.

"My goal through the whole thing was to bring the memorial site to the public," she said.

Seven-year-old Ivy Young of Giles County said she composed her thoughts about the shootings specifically for the reading. She unfolded a tiny piece of paper and stepped up to the microphone. At first, she and her mom cried when they watched what happened enfold on TV, she said. She even had nightmares about the shooter, Seung-Hui Cho.

However, the conclusion of her piece was telling: "I want to go to college at Virginia Tech when I am bigger."

The event lasted about an hour and brought in six readers. Writers mingled afterward.

Wood said she was excited to hear about HERE and the events the group sponsors.

In addition to writing poetry, she is also working with a friend to create a graphic novel, or animated book, about April 16.

"One thing I learned from my therapist when I started going to grief counseling is that the analytical part of your brain shuts down after a tragedy and the creative part takes over," she said.