Last night, I had the pleasure of meeting Autumn Konopka, host of the Milkboy Acoustic Cafe Multi-Genre Series. Thursday nights are poetry nights at the Milkboy Coffeehouse in Bryn Mawr, and last night the audience was thoroughly entertained by Minna Duchovnay and John Yamrus. Duchovnay read contemplative poems with rich natural scenes (plus a few translations of a 16th century poet's musings on kissing--fun stuff), and Yamrus had the crowd laughing quite a few times with his sharp views on (just to name a few subjects) life, death, dogs and poetry. The open mike was short and sweet--Konopka runs a well-organized reading--and we voted anonymously for our favorite.
I am so glad I was there last night. So glad. You see this reading is one of a dozen venues where the Mad Poets Society holds readings and events. Under the direction of Eileen M. D'Angelo, the Mad Poets Society energizes poetry across the region. I went to see some live poetry, and I left high on the idea that poetry was alive and well--in my neighborhood. I felt like I was a student in Pittsburgh in the late 90s--where the poetry scene was so big, there seemed to be a reading--somewhere in the city--almost every night. It's true. It was wild. Last night, the feeling returned. Basically I realized that while the thirty plus colleges and universities in this area certainly keep poetry alive, the Mad Poets Society keeps poetry well. This underground power plant pumps juice into readings all across the area. Poetry for the people. God bless 'em.
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