I’ve been raving about this since last Thursday so I’m sure you’ve all probably heard me mention a little something about how much I absolutely love love LOVED Poetry Night. But for those who have been lucky enough to dodge my anxious madness, I have discovered through connection and connections and some more connections of my new favorite place in the area.
Instead of boring you with the endless background history of how I ended up at Poetry Night—long story short Carmen, Jen and I were meeting with Highland Park community development director—he referred us to some dude named Jackson whose a community leader working to install solar streetlights in Highland Park—we met with him at Nandi’s Knowledge Cafe where I heard about Poetry Night and the rest is history! I know, cliché and dramatic. But seriously I walked out that night literally in a dream land alternate reality universe.
So I think I could and probably should dedicate an entire blog to my obsession with Nandi’s Knowledge Cafe and Soulardarity Solar Street Lights so for this blog’s purposes I’m just going to focus on the specific event of last Thursday Night. I have a problem with writing blogs that are too long.
It was in Highland Park about 3.5 miles away from our dorms so I borrowed Chris’s bike and got there around 9:30pm. I cautiously slowed down as I approached the cafe because there was a bunch of people outside and I still needed to park and lock my bike. Right when I got there however two guys sitting outside smiled and asked me if I was there for Poetry Night. Their names were Resurrector and Jim. They helped me lock my bike in a safe spot because I was having trouble and told me about what they were going to talk about tonight. They go to Poetry Night every week and they love seeing new people come in here and there. After talking for a bit I walked inside and right away was greeted by a few curious and friendly gazes. One of the cool guys I met called himself Sheezy Bo Beezy; he had a comb strategically placed in his fro and was walking around with a few notebooks (seriously, the sweetest and funniest guy I met there). I was probably the only non African American at this event but instead of making me feel out of place everyone there just smiled and exchanged the usual greetings. I was offered some soul food (which was DELICIOUS) and some free wine (which I politely declined ;)) and then I found a seat in the second row from the stage (which was simply an open space with a microphone facing the rows of eccentric seats). The lights were turned off but there was a shimmery blue spotlight. The host, a middle aged dude named Ceasar, went up to the microphone and started off by identifying the rules of Open Mic Night which included the usual be respectful, turn off your cell phones, no talking, etc.
Before I go on I would just like to reiterate that I absolutely love going to open mic nights because its always so interesting to see people’s work and their confidence growing as the feedback is usually supportive and positive. You get to see whats behind the surface, what makes them tick or what makes them sad, and what they think about. Its an art, for sure. The rhythm, the beat, the chosen words, the stage presence, the way the presenter can make an audience feel. I have been to many different types of open mic nights at various places but I feel like those are mostly just teenagers trying out new stuff and presenting abstract ideas and stories that blend together after a while. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the confidence and thoughts of everyone no matter what race, age, or wealth. But the open mic at Nandi’s affected me in a different way. The speakers ranged from young adults to middle aged men and women to a few seniors. The topics were suggestive, vulgar, REAL and more based on real life experience and issues versus just about teen angst. Pieces would range from seniors talking about lost loves of 40 years ago, to erotic fantasies, to heart break, to fitting in, to stereotypes to spirituality. This wasn’t the kind of night where I would just laugh and half pay attention to what was going on. I sat there and tried to absorb every word, feeling and expression. To be honest, I probably looked angry sitting there with my brows furrowed buried in deep thought and focusing. The hours just melted away. It was nearing 12 am and I knew I should probably head back because I was going to be biking and I didn’t want it to get too late. Though I tried to inconspicuously sneak out so I wouldn’t disturb the ongoing performances many of the people there including the owner of the cafe (Nandi) walked out with me to give me hugs and told me how glad they were that I came.
Every moment of that four hours was a beautiful experience. I biked home in such a daze. It was so refreshing to get to meet some new people, feel welcome and get insight into their tight-knit community. I felt a part of something different, bigger than myself and if you’ve ever read any of my previous blogs you know I love that feeling. I love being thrust into a new environment and getting to know everything around me as much as I can. I hate feeling like I’m missing out on all the great things happening in the city all the time because I don’t have my car down here and this was the definition of a memorable and rewarding community event. I was so satisfied and I’m even smiling while writing this. I wish I took pictures to show you guys or had some type of video so that you could feel even a little bit about what I mean. But its just one of those ‘you just had to be there’ moment. And you can bet your a** i’ll be back there again this Thursday.
