There are not many places you'll go where Sylvia Plath will serve you coffee and Alok Menon will read you poetry.
The poets' night out was a success!
Comment who you think these poets are without the labels!
This was my first time hosting an event of this type, and I think more are likely to come! You, reader, shall get an invite to the next one.
We began the night by typing on the typewriters upstairs. One of the rice paper scrolls was read over the mic at the end of the night, which included your work on "There is something at work in my soul which I do not understand". Can you guess which classic work of literature this is from? If you don't know, Sir Google does.
We began the open mic later on, with all poets present, and heard some outstanding work from local poets and some whose bodies have long passed on. Hearing the click-click-ding! as poems were read proudly over the mic and the hiss of the espresso machines filling the air was truly a magical concoction of sounds. Intermittently, the 'brooding' playlist of my Poets' Mix played over the speaker.
And of course we ended the night with a nightcap at Dullboy bar, which features antique typewriters on the walls and a wall of paperbacks! There couldn't be a more fitting place to end up than with a group of poets around a tiny table drinking cocktails against the dim lighting of a writers' bar. Peep the final picture to the far right above.
There is still a chance to sign up for the Monthy Book of Poems and receive a rice paper scroll from this event in the mail with spontaneous work from the local poets above, who you love. Subscribe by December 1st to get it before the holidays.
In closing, I just want to say that I absolutely love the greater Jersey City arts scene. The community is so lovely and has a lot to brag about. Follow me on Instagram.com/livetypewriterpoet where I often share opportunities in the aforementioned arts scene. I am just a toddler here but I'm up and waddling around!
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Warmly,
Pierce with QP