Brooklyn - A City With SOULE

I arrived at JFK airport on Tuesday morning at 8 am after an all night flight. My last goodbyes with Josh, Dylan and Charlie had been really painful, singing "your long journey" together before i walked off brought me to tears. I love these men a lot, and their power will be with me on my long journey. My frown returned to a smile when i reached into my back pocket and noticed that josh had slipped me some cilantro seeds to plant in Israel in order to make good mexican food whenever I am missing California.

My directions to David Gajer's house in Brooklyn were flawless and I made it in time to have breakfast and hear stories before he left for work. The actual daytime was dedicated to catching up on sleep and preparing for a night out in Brooklyn. When I woke up, I searched for any Spoken Word events going on in the neighborhood. Fortunately, there was an open mic happening that night within walking distance from his house off Washington Ave in Prospect Heights at a restaurant called SoulE International. If you are ever in Brooklyn, check this place out for events. Upon arrival, we were asked if we wanted to sign up, but I was a little hesitant and told her I would let her know if I changed my mind. We listened to some awesome poetry and learned what a digital poet is. Apparently, it is someone who types their poetry and uploads it to their smartphone, then uses their smartphone to read the poetry. I understand how convenient this must be if you have a lot of poetry, but after taking Kip Fulbeck's Spoken Word class at UCSB, I prefer when pieces are memorized, and the digital thing especially weirds me out. But it's a new culture I guess and maybe one day i'll become a digital poet myself. (I sure do wish i had my Ronald Nicholson piece on me at all times).
Here's a video of the girl who was the feature poet the night I was there. She is young and writes about things she hasn't actually experienced yet, like being a mother, but feels like she transcends herself and finds these words in a deep place of empathy. She's a true digital poet, and a damn good one.
Digital Poet

At one point in the night, the MC goy on the mic and starts talking about Women's Empowerment, which was the theme of the night. She then asked what the audience thinks about the topic, and got everyone sitting in the restaurant involved in a 30-45 minute discussion about freedom, equality and advocacy. It was such a cool element to add to an open mic night, and it felt so cool to have a conversation with the entire restaurant while eating your food. (i'd love to hear about this idea spreading to bean night, like a weekly topic of discussion or something) I finally decided that I was ready to perform even though Kip Fulbeck told me to be cautious doing my dreadlocks piece in front of an entirely black audience, since it means something different to them. In order to avoid any problems, I opened the piece by saying that I am just a white kid from California with dreadlocks, and this poem is about how dreadlocks have affected my life. For some reason, whenever I don't know anybody in the crowd, I seem to give my best deliveries. There I am, screaming "AND WHEN IT'S POURING RAIN, COLD ENOUGH TO PUT ICICLES IN MY BRAIN, I RELEASE MY BODY OF IT'S CONSTANT STRAIN, AND SUCK ON A DREAD." The poem was greeted with a bouquet of applause and more laughter than a giggling grizzly bear. I was individually complimented my many respectable poets and felt proud that I had something to share with them. Someone videotaped my performance, so hopefully it'll be online sometime soon and i can share it with ya'll. The night continued with a guitar player covering wonderwall, kind of unexpected, but he impressed me with something he said. As he finished the song, he kept playing the chords and began talking. He said that someone once told him that people don't let songs marinate often enough, and so that's what he was going to do. And he continued playing the chords and humming a bit and casually faded away. It was pretty sexy and I definitely resonate with the idea of letting songs or poems marinate. Another guy did a poem that was extremely informative about the banks and the fed and how each play into each other and how they affect our lives. The best way to describe it is poetic education, and I really like this idea.

However, the coolest thing I heard about in the night was an event called "War in Harlem," which they are now bringing to Brooklyn. It is a true open mic night where there is no order or any kind of MC. Whenever someone feels like performing they just go and people can feed off of it or transition however naturally or organically the night allows it. They try to keep the room as dark as possible and performers can perform from wherever they are in the room. Apparently the event goes on for 4 hours like this. I would give my pinky toe to attend one, but they only do it once a month and I won't be here. Hopefully, I will try to make a war event of my own in the next community I settle into.
After the night was over, Gajer and I stuck around and chatted with a lot of the poets and hosts. Everyone was so nice and smiling and happy that we were there. I felt so warmed and loved by this community who was expecting me to return the following week. I told them that I was leaving town, but i would spread the word to all my friends and anyone passing through Brooklyn. If I can't make it again, then maybe I can at least see them vicariously through one of you if you go one day.
I am a breathing time machine

And to top off the night, on our walk home two guys were standing on a street corner excitedly and drunkenly screaming that they were giving away BIRTHDAY CAKE!!! I remembered that in heaven we feed each other and graciously accepted their gift of sugary sweets. I only took a few bites, but it was a perfect sign of how damn cool Brooklyn is!

Also, if you haven't seen this yet, then please check it out. I probably watch it about once a day.
Avett Brothers - NPR Tiny Desk Series