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Open Mic Highlights 05/27
• Lynette’s soup-themed sestina ruminating on how “your brain isn’t fully developed until 25”
• Aanchal’s evil dentist poem (yes, a lot of us were thinking of this as a foil to Kai’s sexy dentist poem!
• Shivank taking the well-worn “inside you there are two wolves” concept to oblivion with trademark weird wisdom and askance humor, and Alex Kist’s revelation that they learned about limerance in 5th grade
• Kay’s letter to the couscous they left out overnight and took a chance on the next day (it didn’t go well), Jayda wrote about celebrating 18 years with their spouse, and Sue Savoy read a meditation on attractiveness
• Abbie’s “audition” for the Ratatouille Musical (Ratatousical) and a surprise “We are in Hell” group piece from Kai and Will L!
• The smoking section was particularly good tonight, with Amy’s just-written bar conversation between two women who just met and discuss judgement and change, and Brynna’s “Poem In Which Kamala Harris Moves Into My Bedroom” which explained her complex relationship with her father via the US political system and some incredible lines/turns of phrase
Feature 05/27
The feature this week was our first ever COMPLIMENT DEATH MATCH! People faced off head-to-head and gave each other compliments, with the audience judging who gave the best compliment of the round! The wholesome vibes were off the charts so much that contestants admitted to feeling embarrassed on stage after receiving their round of compliments! And in between rounds, host Brynna read anonymous compliments that had been filled out by audience members about other people in the room! The winner of the compliment death match (and a free COMPLIMENTARY drink) was Kay Miranda! This was the most feel-good feature of the year <3
Open Mic Highlights 06/03
• “The only thing that would make me a man is being miserable” – first-timer Shepherd
• Sean’s audacious meta-poem where he turned away from the stage and asked people to stand up and sit down, and didn’t look to see who followed through on it / “If you have enough dreams one of them must succeed”
• The return of Charlie V and Lauren, and Scott Timothy’s Dr. Seuss inspired poem “O the place bisexual men go”
• Philip G’s tale of being on the jury for a murder trial, where the jury was instructed to ” not consider the consequences of their verdict” when making their decision
• TJ’s solemn poem on the US/Iran bombings (“They keep dropping our money through people’s heads”)
•Myles’ “During Every Job I’ve Had In Education I’ve Been Mistaken As A Student” that ruminated on image control and perception
Feature 06/03
Our feature this week was Chuck Perkins from New Orleans! If you were there for Tongo Eisen-Martin’s political-jazz-psychedelic feature in 2024, this one hit similar notes in strength, performance, and unedited extension of craft! Chuck started off-book for the first 10 minutes with a medley of poems all strung together, punctuated by recurring lines like “What else may I say about beauty”, interruptions into song, rhythm litanies, and an underlying theme of racial justice and the cycle of violence that surrounds it. Her also read from his book “Beautiful and Ugly Too”, and ended with a storytelling suite that described his upbringing with his siblings and parents, and connected it to his current life with his wife and kids. Thank you Chuck for bringing your work to us!
Coming Up This Wednesday
This week we will have our normal extended open mic and a feature from Chiara Di Lello!
Bio: Chiara Di Lello is a queer writer, artist, and educator who loves coffee and bees and unequivocally supports the movement for Palestinian liberation. Born and raised in New York City, she now resides in the Hudson Valley where she teaches students of many ages in creative and academic settings. Her poems and essays have appeared in Ninth Letter, Catapult, Okay Donkey, and Whale Road Review, and have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Her spare time is spent trying to be a better gardener and spoiling her friends’ kids.
See you later! 🐊
– MFG 🚪
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