Coming Alive with PoetsWest
by Wendy Blake
PoetsWest, a Seattle-based non-profit led by poet, novelist, and organizer J. Glenn Evans, contributes a bright splash of color to the area’s vibrant literary scene. Hosting regular readings at venues like Ballard’s Penny Cafe, Ravenna’s Third Place Books, and Columbia City’s Lottie Motts Coffee Shop, PoetsWest offers continuous opportunities for new and known poets to make their voices heard.
J. Glenn Evans, a mature gentleman with a disarming smile and engaging interest in poetry, hosts many of these events himself. Participating in a recent Penny Cafe reading, I enjoyed Evans’ welcoming demeanor. Featured poets, open mic participants, and listeners were treated to appreciative greetings, and the front anteroom of the eclectic coffee house filled to capacity with folks of all ages who came to enjoy an evening of amusing, enlightening, reflective, and satirical verse.
Listening to poetry is a singularly wonderful way to pass a couple of hours at the end of the day, even as passersby look in through the picture windows in wonderment that poetry survives at all. And unlike the more usual format of poetry readings, in which one poet steps into the spotlight for several minutes and then fades back into the audience, Evans arranges the readings in a round-robin style that keeps the mood fresh and entwines the voices into a balanced tone.
At the Penny Cafe and other PoetsWest events, poets take turns reading two poems apiece, returning in turn to the podium to read two more. Often, there are three or four featured poets and twice as many open mics, distinguishable only by their introductions. As a featured poet, I listened as Evans introduced me, improvising his own word choice over the brief bio I’d handed in. He introduced the open mic poets by name only, and invited all of them to say a few words about themselves because, as Evans said, we like to know a little about the poets we’re hearing from.
This arrangement lends a special sense of democracy to an event, keeps the room active, and allows poets to respond and react in a nearly conversational style. No one is particularly highlighted, no one grabs all the attention, and no one is left behind.
The effect of this reading structure is a sense that poetry is something that we all have in common. Every distinct voice joins a chorus that reminds us that individuality makes for more interesting unity as the theme of the evening unfolds. As poets rotate past the podium, listeners begin to recognize and appreciate the strengths of word choice, imagery, and rhythm; weigh the relative benefits of the presence or absence of rhyme; and capture clear impressions of the nature of contemporary poetry.
I’m pleased to have woven my thread into the tapestry of a PoetsWest reading. The diversity of voices and approaches to poetry, the welcoming encouragement of J. Glenn Evans, and the lively exchange of poets and their words created an atmosphere rich with revelry, and we all left satisfied, filled with the insight and observation that only poetry can offer.