Hello again. Lately I've been feeling rather rushed. Now I know that it is finals week, and in light of that I probably should feel rushed. But this feeling of 'rushed-ness' seems to transcend the craziness of finals. In fact, now that I think of it, I have been feeling this way for awhile. It seems the weeks go by without me even really being fully aware. And to make matters worse, the days captured within those weeks go by in what seems the blink of an eye. Because of this, I often forget about all the many facets of life that make me happy. I feel confined to a routine that works with my schedule. However, last night I seemed to have broken my pattern when I found myself caught in a vortex of rap, rhythm, comedy, monologue, music, and poetry.
Now, before I go any further, let me take you back. Fellow editor Ryan called me about a poetry reading that was going on at Half-off Books in downtown Whittier, and asked me if I could go even though he couldn't. Seeing that it might be an opportunity to network the magazine, and needing a break from studying I agreed. Arriving in Whittier I was pleasantly reminded of the town I grew up in, aside from the gravy fry shop, of course. Purposefully parking two blocks away, so I could roam the streets a bit, it took me about ten minutes to walk to the poetry reading, but I finally made it.
Now this is where the vortex begins.
Immediately after walking into the bookstore I was blown away with the amount of laughter coming from the audience. The first act was a comedian who brilliantly intertwined his own poetry into his act making it fit the “open poetry mic night” criteria. Following this act was a concession of poets who were all very talented. The poets at this reading were beat poets, so their performances were very energetic and elaborate as they incorporated music and rhythm into their sets. The most interesting aspect of their poetry was how personal it was, and how much it revealed about their own lives. It was inspiring seeing the expressions on some of these poet's faces as they performed their poetry; these poet's expressions only enhanced their poetry, and captured the audience into listening to what they had to say. The evening wrapped up with a young woman rapping (which still makes me smile), and a young man performing a monologue from Bradstreet.
Now, after writing that paragraph I feel as if I'm writing, terribly, a review of the poetry reading, and that is not what I had intended. I'll cut to the chase. The poetry reading was refreshing, new, and inspiring for me. It opened my eyes to expression in a way that I had never seen it done before. I can't tell you how many times I have written a song and scrapped it because I didn't think I'd be comfortable performing it as the emotions expressed in it were too raw, too real. Yet it was this discomfort, this rawness, this darkness that made some of the poetry read at the Whittier poetry reading so inspiring.
With this said I have but two closing messages:
1. Go out to more poetry readings. In fact, if you haven't been to one, or want to go to another, come join us at the Coffee Klatch in Rancho Cucamonga tomorrow night, the open mic starts at 7:00 PM. The reason I say this is because, like my feelings ,expressed in the beginning, of getting overly caught up in the same routine, artists too can often get stuck in a rut and feel that they have nothing to write about, or that their writing is constantly following the same pattern. Poetry readings, and other events that host artistic expression, can open your eyes, or help break you out of this consistency.
Take the risk. It is never comfortable getting up in front of a group of people and performing, but if you never give it a shot then you will never know. So if you have written some poetry, a song, a monologue, anything, and want to share it, then, again, come out to the Coffee Klatch in Rancho Cucamonga tomorrow night at 7:00. A Few Lines Magazine is hosting our third poetry reading, and we would love to have you there.
Until then,
Nick
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