Being Open at Open Mic

Last night I attended a wonderful reading at Milkboy Coffee in Bryn Mawr. The reading was sponsored by the Mad Poets Society and featured Nathalie Anderson and my friend, J.C. Todd. Their readings were both excellent; I was particularly excited by hearing more of J.C.'s work. Her book, What Space This Body, is one of my favorites of the year, and she read some of my favorite selections from it ("Moon Blown Free," "Men Kissing," and "Pissing"). She also read some of her translations of exciting Latvian poets in New European Poets, as well as some newer work that is still in process. It was delightful in every way. I wish I could read with such a sharp, smiling presence as hers.

Nathalie Anderson read a variety of material, but mostly from a collection of poems written about her time in Kyoto. What I remember most are delicious poems about the food she ate there, as well as her remarkable ability to balance several books and pieces of paper at once in front of the mic. Hers was also a powerful presence.

When it was time for the open mic after the reading, the poets read works responding in some way to J.C. and to Nathalie: poems that answered J.C.'s dedication of "Men Kissing" to Sarah Palin, or poems that added to the feast of Nathalie's food poems. I only brought two poems with me, and they didn't necessarily respond to either poet's work. I brought them because they are fresh for me, easy enough to read, and upbeat. By all accounts, they were well received, but I wish I had thought about how to connect with the other readers. Other poets, I noticed, brought a pile of poems from which they chose appropriate responses to the night's readings. I love the ways in which poets and poems dialogue; in the future, I hope I am able to more skillfully enter the open mic conversation. It takes flexibility, and, well, openness!