Public Poet

I just delivered my first ever live poetry reading.

There's a monthly open mic session at What the Dickens, a bar in Ebisu, on the first Sunday of every month. I went last month and managed to be so polite and non-insistent that I never ended up getting my turn. Fortunately, a few of my friends had no qualms about letting the organizer know what a mistake he'd made, and I arrived this time with my slot secured.

It was a good group tonight, and I got to go up at just the right time for the material I had to present. I read There Was Once from memory (interchanging one line, ah well), then went into selections from the Apocryphal Bible of a Soul. The audience was receptive, and I even got some minor heckling on a word choice—which pleased me because it indicated that people were both listening and thinking. I think I reached people. 

Thanks go to Michele for being my de facto manager for the night (thanks for the pic!), and to Frank and Jezza for their appreciation—which was particularly meaningful given how much I've respected the work they do themselves. 

Next time I might actually invite friends to come along... (July 1st 6:00-8:00... I'll have about 5 minutes in there somewhere.)

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