In what now sounds like it will be the first of many such events, last night, Tom's Tavern hosted Poetryoke. As it sounds, karaoke, but with poems and not songs. Hosted by local poets Christina Kallery and Matthew Landrum as well as Tom's Tavern's own Ron, the evening ended up a quite successful one as ten others showed up for the evening (including a young man originally from Denmark, now living in Detroit that just happened to stop on in, but was a fan of poetry and literature), most with poems or books in hand, ready to share their favorite words with the others.
Any time I'm at Tom's Tavern I think that the event or evening I'm enjoying possibly could have happened somewhere else, but it just wouldn't be the same--there's a very special ambiance about this little building and its bartender. Many poems were read in two sessions with some jukebox in between. Drinks were had, as were pretzels. And poetry. A lot of poems were read including works by: Jim Harrison, Ellen Bass, Li Young Lee, an anti-war poem by e.e. cummings, Charles Bukowski, Mary Oliver, a couple of different people read from Naayyirah Waheed's collection, Salt. There was a poem from a Chinese author whose name I didn't catch, and wouldn't know how to type it out if I had. Two of Christina Kallery's poems were read. Tony Hoagland was read, as was Robert Fanning's "What is Written On the Leaves." There was at least one poem by Keats, and a few efforts that weren't necessary poetry, but came from the same spirit as poems, including a fantastic interview question response by Werner Herzog.
It seems like a good time when not only everybody that shows up on purpose enjoys the night, but also a random drop-in, whose words upon leaving were "This was really different and not what I expected when I came in here tonight, but it was really great."
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