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Hi Cantab, happy National Poetry Writing Month! We had a great Wednesday last week. Prince Shapiro returned to kick off the mic with another bilingual poem and the inclusion of a mouth-harp/kazoo-like instrument I’ve never seen before. Fun fact, during the break between the mic and the feature, Prince played the instrument while another regular beatboxed and Jelal Huyler (our feature last week!) freestyled. What a moment! Other open mic highlights: Cam S performed a poem that was sang at a punk show …. in a dream he had….. and we determined the genre was “northeast emo.” Mina did three short poems about a dead elephant in the room. First timer Sonny read a wonderful, winding, nostalgic poem about “company,” while Myles pulled someone off the waitlist and called it a “purely selfish yoink.” (the person was Jelal). Finally, Grace performed a found poem written that evening as part of the pre-show workshop, and first-timer Jordan blew us away with a love poem describing a “pink aura.”
The ✏️Line of the Wednesday ✏️ goes to tonight’s feature – Donovan Beck: “Heaven was never meant to be white roads and marble”
Our prompt this week was: Write about the terrors of love; a terrific perspective on loving/being loved.
Our feature was the astounding Catherine Weiss, who read from her collection “Big Money Porno Mommy.” Their poems were deeply analytical in a way that hits you over the head, and one of the best moments was the series of around five poems entitled “The Phone Sex Poem,” each leaving the audience with a slightly different but distinct feeling. Ending on a poem entitled “Inheritance” that left us all floored, we exited the basement still thinking about the impact their words had on how one can view sex, love, adolescence, and history.
This week our feature is our very own regular, DONOVAN BECK! Donovan Beck is an author, filmmaker, advocate, and multi-hyphenate storyteller dedicated to redefining how we talk about mental health, creativity, and ourselves, especially online. Through the lens of poetry and filmmaking, Donovan creates a safe place on social media for people to embrace vulnerability in their daily lives and use social media platforms like TikTok & Instagram for good. Donovan has launched his second book in March of 2025, a multi-form work on hope, creativity, and mental health, taking a poet’s view on “the aftermath of despair.” Sunbreak: Notes on Hope is published by Andrews McMeel Universal.
See you then!
– Amy ✈️
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