Why Does Utah County Need a Creative Writing Open Mic?

The easiest answer to that question is that I'm in Utah County and I need an Open Mic.  I need that feeling of community.  I need that energy.  I need to come out of my dark writing cave and have regular positive feedback.  I need to know and be inspired by the other writers here.  I need to hear opinions I disagree with (and opinions I didn't know I agreed with!).  I need the adrenalin.  I need the applause.  I need a regular night off from being Super Mom.  I need this community and I think there are others who do too.  Raise of hands?

Perhaps you haven't raised your hand yet because you don't know exactly what I'm talking about.  I'm talking about a weekly gathering devoted entirely to sharing creative writing.  This would be equal parts community building and writer building--a safe place for new writers to take tentative steps or not-new writers to try out an unfamiliar genre and a comfortable place for seasoned writers to share new work or practice new pieces (or old pieces).  Any form of creative writing is welcome (time limit: 7 minutes) and all writers are heard and celebrated.  No formal critique is offered (though if you ask me beforehand I could give you some brief feedback afterwards).  No judging occurs.  Pieces can be memorized, read from a notebook, read from an iPhone, read from the back of your hand--anything goes.  This gathering would also be uncensored.  I know that's controversial in this area and I worry that some people translate that to mean "this gathering will be offensive."  That's not necessarily what will happen on any given night (we do ask everyone to play nicely!), but, yes, no matter where you land on the spectrum of beliefs (religious, political, whatever) you may hear something you ardently disagree with and/or find offensive.  It's the nature of the beast.  You have to trust your fellow writers to not take you down those paths lightly and you have to value free speech above maintaining your own comfort level.  I'm a pretty conservative writer.  I don't swear.  I don't write erotica.  I don't go off on political rants.  I have a really funny piece that uses the word "breast" in it, though, and when I went to an open mic that started with an injunction to only read "rated-PG" pieces I had a moment of panic.  Was this piece PG-13?  Was I going to be shunned if I read it in this setting?

I'm a rule follower.  I will never take two donuts if the sign says "Take One."  It really doesn't take much to reign me in.  In fact, I'm such a good rule follower that I don't require explicit rules.  The barest hint of a rule is enough to restrain me.  A satin ribbon is as effective as a chain link fence in my world.  This is why when it comes to my own writing, I am my greatest source of oppressive censorship.  I feel too strongly the aesthetics of everyone around me.  If life is a landscape shaped by judgement calls then my curse is having a map that shows them all.  It's not that I don't understand or value the need to make judgement calls or to draw certain lines.  It's just that I don't feel comfortable drawing the line for other people because I feel like so many people draw the line for me (whether they realize it or not) and I'm trying to figure out the lines for myself.  Even people who value boundaries need a place where the only boundaries are the ones they fashion for themselves.  Poetry is a place where you can speak the unspeakable truths.  Take it from a devoutly rated-PG woman: that isn't always PG.  It is, however, worth it.

If you are interested in making this idea a reality in Utah County, please leave a comment or follow this blog for more information on upcoming open mic events.  Information will also be posted on the Speak For Yourself page on Facebook.  We have a trial run as a weekly event at Guru's Cafe at 45 East Center in Provo for the first three Thursdays in May so I hope that you will all raise your hands by coming.  Bring your work or just support the writers in this area with your presence (and applause!).  May 1, 8, and 15 at 7 pm is when you can raise your hand to support creative writing in Utah County.  See you then!

Salt City Slam

Salt City Slam
Sam Weller Books
January 27, 2014

We got off to a bit of a rocky start because we showed up at the wrong venue.  Apparently Sam Weller bookstore had moved to Trolley Square several years ago.  Yes, years.  If I had given more credence to the map on Facebook than the address on the KSL event page we would have been fine, but KSL had the date and Facebook was silent.  Alas, we made a poor choice and ended up missing the Open Mic portion of the evening.  This also resulted in an unfortunate chair-free experience for the evening.  My resourceful companions scrounged up a low bench to share, but we gazed enviously at the chairs with backs on them all night long.

I’ve been about 7 months removed from my beloved writing community in St George so I was a tiny bit giddy to once again be around people who loved to wrap themselves around words.  I will admit right off that I was nervous that I might be out of my depth and relieved to see that poets of all stripes were embraced and applauded.  After the Open Mic (we saw only the final performer, who was hilarious) there was a featured poet whose name I very unfortunately did not write down.  She traveled here from Seattle and used the most evocative images.  My favorite of her pieces was her final one that used the image of atoms to explore the idea of catalysts and change.  Her powerful plea for an electron (agent of change) to come to her still resonates in my mind.  Of course, my summary is completely butchering the piece.  Such are the hazards of reviewing a poetry reading.

It wasn’t until after both of these events that the slam began and by that time we were so tired that we almost went home.  The featured poet was so fabulous that we felt full of happy writing moments and the hour long drive home loomed large.  But this was an expedition to check out the local writing scene so we stayed and were not disappointed.  Several of the poets had pieces that really piqued my interest and made me want to be a part of this community.  My biggest problem is logistics, really.  I left my kids with my parents at 5:45 pm and didn’t return until nearly 1 am.  This may be do-able for people without kids, but for a single mom who generally works nights this is unsustainable over the long term.  This really did feed my start in a big way, though.  Hopefully I can find a way to have poetry in my life without 2+ hours of driving.  In the meantime, I’ll sneak up to Salt Lake whenever it is vaguely feasible.  (And St George too!  SLAM on February 14, 2014 at Jazzy’s on Bluff)