This last Thursday, I had the pleasure of both implicitly hosting and taking part in an open mic night at the University of Washington! That is, the event was put on by the Bricolage Literary Arts Journal (of which I am Treasurer), though there was some carry-over in attendance from the first general meeting for Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society (also Treasurer of that) an hour prior. The event was hosted in the subterranean Parnassus Café of the Art building, a dimly lit but warmly inviting place for poets and musicians of all stripes.
The turnout? Excellent! Granted, the room has a capacity cap of about seventy, but anybody in the Seattle area who’s interested can also check out further open mics sponsored by Manic Mouth Congress every other Thursday, 7-9pm, starting January 24.
The evening’s material was full of superbly-written, well-delivered pieces, running the gamut from a spoken-word feminist declaration to an acoustic song about a Yeti. When it was my shot at the spotlight, I cleared my throat, rose the microphone stand considerably, and read a pair of poems: Christmastime, from Love&Darkness: Vol. I, and the following poem, one based on couplets that I recently wrote for my current poetry class (English 483 with Linda Bierds, which is going excellently so far):
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On a slightly related note, I would like to personally thank electronic musician, fellow blogger, and guy from Michigan Truttle for laying down his digital dollar for the first official online purchase of Love&Darkness: Vol. I! If you’re on your way to PayPal checkout for your own copy, don’t forget to stop by his Bandcamp page to pick up some sweet ambient tunes.
Notes&Sketches 