Poets of the Caribbean: Love Letters

~By Dana Nollsch~

On Valentine’s Day evening, poets gathered at Bruka Theater to celebrate love and the love of words.

Poetical musings on the various incantations, inspirations, and losses of love. Come hear the next installment in Spoken Views Collective’s Special Event Series. All proceeds from the entire evening will support sending our Reno Adult and Youth teams to the National Poetry Slam Finals and Brave New Voices competitions this year. (Adult in Chicago and Youth in Houston)

This was a very inspiring event, full of love and sharing in a very nonjudgmental and free-flowing atmosphere.

Jesse James Ziegler is a marvelous host and talent as he introduces each competitor for their time at the microphone. Each poet took their turn sharing what felt like words from deep in their hearts.

Some of the works by these artists hit so close to home that I would have thought they were written for me.

Here is a list of the poets who shared their work in order of appearance:

1. Natalie Rodriguez
2. John Blomberg
3. Joe Garton
4. Julia Butler
5. Griffin Peralta
6. Erubey Mercado
7. Joe Martin
8. Mona Young
9. Riley McKinney

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~ Love Letters ~ (Closing Piece)

You can send love letters over the open air like prayer, mend with shove forgetters and consider it a personal dare, to send regular messages to whom you most care,  about, to whom you’re most devout, and entertain what it would take to send a message of love to those who you might have judged as being discovered when cleaning out the grout.

Night light bright as the index on your right side becomes a fighter and a typewriter, when you, then you, totes wrote notes on your phone. Sent texts, so that you know you’re not alone. Emails leaving trails of streams of consciousness and relationship. Blue FB love letters so that you can see, 9 years ago, wee hee, you hate this trip. Journal entries on computers, love letters to self, filling also pages in volumes spilling across an entire shelf.

Thank you notes, birthday cards, Valentine’s delights, alls it knows is a heart that loves and it writes.

Hands that fight through type.

So many demands, through hoops, true hype. So we take the time, amidst gripes, amidst the stars and the stripes, amidst comment sections, amidst recent elections, amidst the tendon and the tripe of life we write those love letters to each other.

~Jesse James Ziegler~

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Be sure to check out upcoming events:

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SVC @ HOLLAND Open Mic & Slam

Tuesday, February 20 at 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

At The Holland project

https://www.facebook.com/events/147466782618818/?ti=icl

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LIT at NITE: Bad Romance

Friday, February 23 at 8 PM – 9:30 PM

At Headquarters Reno

https://www.facebook.com/events/179330426003369/?ti=icl

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