Poets on Stage
![couch[1].png](https://looseleafnotes.com/images/couch%5B1%5D.png)
For awhile it looked like we would be reading without a mic. “Sort of like going bra-less,” I said to my friend. “You know, like not having any support…for your voice.”
She did an inter-active piece, once the Café Del Sol staff got the sound system figured out. She passed out index cards and pens before reading her prose, and when she was finished, she asked listeners to suggest a good ending.
I was next. I read a few poems about death, and then, just to prove that I do have a sense of humor, I read “Indian Summer.” The neighborhood dogs…are sitting out October…like wallflowers in the corner…they’re over dressed in fur… I actually got a request. “Can you read the scrabble poem?” the man with the beard asked.
After the bearded man (who doesn’t like to be mentioned on the internet) read a few emotional narrative poems, a new reader from Blacksburg closed the set, but not before the owner of the café, a local blues singer, adlibbed her own impromptu poem.
When it was over, a young high school student approached me to thank me and to tell me that she plans to bring her own poems to read next month. That’s good because that’s the point. Unlike the readings we do (about 4 times a year) at Floyd’s Oddfellas Cantina that mainly feature our Writers’ Workshop Group, the open mic spoken word nights are meant to give people of all ages and ilks an opportunity to share their voices.
The next Open Mic at the Café Del Sol (pictured in the photo) will be November 18th at 7: PM.
October 18th, 2005 10:34 am
Hello from Michele’s.
Sounds like you had a wonderful time!
October 18th, 2005 2:05 pm
colleen…i got your books (THANKS!)…i have started reading the jim and dan stories and i am having a hard time putting it down! it is GREAT! i am going to blog about it (if you don’t care) when i finish reading it…which i suspect will be sometime later today…
October 18th, 2005 5:17 pm
Oooh! This takes bravery! Good for you!
October 18th, 2005 8:32 pm
Sounds like a great supportive atmosphere. You seem to be really growing as a performer too.
October 18th, 2005 10:29 pm
Oh la la – a request, go you!
October 19th, 2005 12:53 am
Brings back open mic memories for me. I’m trying to get something started at the art league here, though if anything happens it probably won’t be until the spring.
October 19th, 2005 9:45 am
I wish I lived near so I could attend!
October 20th, 2005 6:41 am
Vashti took the words right out of my keyboard!
I will never forget the storytelling sessions I attended while in college. My professor (Sign Language teacher who also acted in “Children of a Lessor God”) wanted us to work on our listening skills. Seems contradictory for a sign language class but there was a method to his madness.
I’d love to attend more of these but have no idea how to even find them in my area.
I give you so much credit for getting up and sharing your works.
October 20th, 2005 10:17 pm
This might be an odd comment, but I love the wall at the Café, Colleen. I’ve tried to do that to one of my rooms and it looked so amateurish that I painted the entire room over.