A Symphony of Words

Word of Mouth open mic nights at Bossa pair an inviting space with local talent.

By Meredith A. Sedlachek

Almost immediately (and perhaps because I was clutching a journal), Paul Gonzalez, one of the three Word of Mouth organizers, approached me. He introduced himself, welcomed me, and asked if I was planning to read that evening. Still skeptical, I offered him a "maybe" and settled into a sofa near the exit. Bad poetry often requires a getaway plan.

By 8:15, the space had filled with with a modest, jovial crowd of about 30. A lovely strand of white Christmas lights lay near the microphone, and Paul stepped up to the mic to start the evening.

What followed, for the next hour and a half, were readings by some of the most diverse and talented writers I've heard in quite some time. Gonzalez's cavalier, "anything goes" approach brought forth poetry readings in Spanish, with bongo drum accompaniment, and even two writers who sang their pieces a cappella. I even read a few pieces. The crowd was both welcoming and respectful of every reader, and I left feeling as though I had finally discovered the perfect vintage I had been craving.

But could it last? Was my experience perhaps just the buzz of an opening night crowd needing to satisfy their craving for spoken-word poetry?

I returned in January to find out.

On a bitterly cold evening, the crowd was still respectable -- around 25 attendees at the height of the evening. The artwork on the walls had changed, but the space, along with the welcoming faces of the Word of Mouth organizers, had not.

And there was no shortage of talent.

"The three of us wanted a stage where we could read our own work, but Word of Mouth is really about awakening artists in other people," said Laurie Blair, one of the "triad" (as they call themselves). "We want the person who thinks they would never get up and read their work to feel comfortable reading here."

Laila Shereen, another co-founder, added, "We want this to be breeding for creativity. Everyone is accepted. Every political voice is accepted. Every language is accepted. Any type of expression is accepted, and it would be great if the people who meet here end up collaborating and creating together."

January's evening featured poetry in both Spanish and Guarani (an indigenous language of Paraguay), a spectacular opera in six words, several political pieces, and a rant or two.

Jorge Luis Borges said, "Truly fine poetry must be read aloud. Poetry always remembers that it was an oral art before it was a written art. It remembers that it was first song."

Word of Mouth nights offer a symphony.

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Meredith A. Sedlachek holds an MFA in creative writing and is a poet, freelance writer, and editor.