boston progress radio

The final East Meets Words of 2008!

Posted by sudo on December 16th, 2008 | Category: Random Thoughts

After we swept, vacuumed, threw out trash and organized the East Meets West bookstore, Dave said I should co-host the next East Meets Words open mic with Long. I was immediately enthused and nervous about that. Despite being psyched to engage the audience, I wondered just how I would do that. I’m usually soaking in the vibe at open mic, absorbed in the performances, at times left stunned and dazed by the artists, only days later ready to put the experience into words. And yeah, this was pretty challenging as a bunch of powerful young voices unleashed intense spoken word performances that thundered through the space.

Thanks to students brought by a high school teacher of Sejal’s, students from UTEC, and college students coming for our feature Tu Phan, we had a great list of open mic sign-ups. The strongly delivered imagery of Joey B.’s love poem once again astounded me; Scott’s parody (and critique!) of Adam Sandler’s musical (and other) abilities tossed us into fits of roiling humor; Pushkar delivered a fierce perspective on US occupation of Iraq. There was no lack of empowerment that evening. Subjects within and among performances enfolded us in an incredibly diverse spectrum of ideas and emotions as we heard about all the activities and situations a brown paper bag can be a part of, the tragedy of beauty chosen over intelligence, unrestrained expressions of passion, secrets kept when love is so powerful it’s overwhelming and much more. The energy of each artist and the entire audience was beautifully palpable. I’m surprised their echoes aren’t still reverberating in the bookstore space.

The BPAC members there also made their presence memorable. Despite agreeing to co-host mere minutes before open mic got underway, Long did an awesome job, totally rising to the occasion. He was able to bring in his perspective and knowledge on the spot, radiating a character that was earnest and welcoming. Giles shared with us his Christmas poem which brought together a number of trenchant perspectives on holiday traditions. Sejal read a poem full of intense love, concern and honesty. And to wrap up the open mic part of this EMW, Victor let loose his charismatic freestyling while accompanied by Giles on the guitar.

Our feature Tu Phan has performed at EMW as an open mic artist before, and having his words again fill the space felt familiar and exciting. Starting off his set by telling us 16 things about himself, Tu began to introduce himself to the audience, and we only got better acquainted with him through the intense and at times turbulent course of his performance. I learned that he doesn’t like eating animal products. Tu has a knack for presenting compelling language with striking presence. In a piece describing deeply personal and painfully widespread oppression of the human spirit, he held himself as if in an invisible straitjacket, conveying a range of emotions through a combination of physical restraint and a vehement, unfettered voice. In another piece about love, he told us about the hope and dreams of love and also how he discovered that “somethings just aren’t meant to be.”

Come again in 2009! The open mic just “can’t stop, won’t stop!”