East Meets Words Open Mic: Ishle Yi Park
This month’s East Meets Words series featured Ishle Yi Park and an explosive cast of open mic performers. The East Meets West Bookstore was rocking from the beginning and the rocking did not stop until the very last note was sung. The open mic segment started with Vinh, who performed a passionate piece about family, followed by a soothing reading of Jim Knowles. A woman named Jessica was up next as she read two of her recent poems. The night’s host, Giles Li, shared a piece of his own as he rediscovered his love for writing. The pace of the show kicked up as Febo and Sofia Snow each delivered amazing performances shooting straight from their hearts; we in the audience were left in awe. Ching-In Chen then followed with two stories of her own. David Kong, the human beatbox, provided beats for three Emcees: Victor, Amon, and Theresa Vu. All three brought the house down with their individual and collaborative freestyles.
Then came the main attraction: Ms. Ishle Yi Park. Someone once said “you can take me away from New York but you can’t take New York away from me.” This quote was apparent when Ishle Yi Park, the Poet Laureate of Queens, New York took the stage. She was able to captivate the audience from the start with her larger-than-life personality. Ishle’s personality was transferred to the performances when she grabbed the hands of the audience and guided them through the journey of her life.
Ishle began her segment by reciting a poem with the assistance of Giles Li on guitar. The rest of the night was filled with songs that could inspire you, move you to tears, or fill you with joy and laughter. She touched on every subject including self-discovery in New Zealand, love, politics, and being a mentor to her best friend’s daughter. Ishle Yi Park was brilliant as she sang every note with passion. As she performed, you couldn’t help but just close your eyes and let her take you away with her voice and words. Ishle’s talents cannot be described by words alone. Her unique style left me wanting more. The words “my people, oh oh, my people, oh oh…” kept replaying over and over in my head well after the show had ended. All I want to say to the people who missed out on this amazing show is… sorry.
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Long you don’t have to rub it in. But I do accept your apology. Thank goodness we got some of the music recorded. Can’t wait for the podcast to go up.
yeah this may have been one of the best open mics we’ve had. that’s what happens when the open mic list actually fills all the way up!
cot damn! can’t believe i missed this…
serious charles, we missed the impromptu verses.
Soothing….haha, you are kind.
If I get there again, maybe
I’ll do something more gripping.
Anyway, we had a good time.
The sounds, feelings, and beats were nice.
Ishle was a rainfall, a tornado, a sunrise,
and a mass-movement all in one.
Give a shout when something happens again.