One of the ways that poets and writers can change the cultural conversation in significant ways.
@smokey I run a reading series called First Tuesdays in my neighborhood. I've been doing it now for about 6 or 7 years, but I used to attend the series before that. (It is, in fact, as far as I know, the oldest running reading series in Queens, about 12 years.) And one of the things that kept me coming back at that time was that, almost every month, at least one person who had never read their work in public got up to read and the group was just so warm and welcoming. We don't get quite so many brand new readers anymore, but it does happen, and I am happy to say that the sense of community that I valued back then has only grown. We are certainly not as disruptive/iconoclastic as the Lebanese writer in the article, but I like to think First Tuesdays does a similar--if perhaps more subtle, nuanced, and quiet--kind of work.
@richnewman A group of my younger friends held a “Poetry Night” at a local coffee shop every Tuesday during their senior year in high school—and during the subsequent summer, to which they invited me. It was much less formal, just a bunch of us sitting around a table drinking, reading, writing, and sharing, but it remains one of my most pleasant memories.
All of which has got me thinking, I wonder if there is anything on the spectrum between First Tuesdays and Poetry Night around here now…?
@juliansummerhayes I was musing about finding one in the physical world nearby, though I do like the idea of having an online series on Micro.blog, too!
@smokey Those kinds of groups can be such community-building experiences. One of the things that's been so gratifying about First Tuesdays is the way it's become a small community. I try to make sure we--anyone on the mailing list who'd like to come--get together once or twice a year for lunch at a local Indian restaurant. We may talk shop, but it's not a reading. It's just a chance to schmooze a bit. Which reminds me that I need to set the date for the next one.
@richnewman Oh, that’s lovely. I am going to keep my eyes open in my area, as well as keep this floating on my brain for later.