i have been attending open mics around the city for about a year and a half now. it was a sincere surprise to me, to experience how much i love being on stage. i feel like a whole different person. "I feel like i am at home", i once told a fellow poet, Phyllis Talley, who had featured one night at Cornelia Street Cafe. she is one of my most favorite spoken word poets i have been privy to watch. i had walked over to praise her for her writing one evening, but in turn received high admiration for my body of work. she had seen me read on numerous occasions and that night she spoke to me to tell me how much she loved my work. i felt so blessed. like i won the lottery.we had spoken before but this time was different. maybe it was because this time i was approaching her as well.
this time was different for me because i was considering the fact and the acknowledgment that people recognized me as a person and my writing - not only from what i read that evening but my work over the various months as a collective whole.
i have read at a few Open Mics : Cornelia Street Cafe, Nightingale, Vox Pop, Nuyorican. Even held a one woman open mic at my sisters apartment one evening. i will tell you all more about my experiences at these venues as time progresses.