Poets, writers, musicians and one novelist gathered in the second-floor meeting room of the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library on Monday for the library’s first ever open mic.
The event was part of the library’s “Escaping the Ordinary” program for adults, though children and teens were also allowed to perform.
The program was put together by Clara Ortega, who is in charge of adult services at the library. Ortega came up with the idea for the open mic to get more people involved in the library.
“I do a lot of open mics,” she said. “I know a lot of writers … so I thought it might be a good idea to get people in.”
It seems to have done the trick.
Ten artists performed everything from songs they’d written to short stories in progress. Ortega was pleased with the turnout — more in the audience than on the stage — considering this was the library’s first open mic.
Arthur Howell is one performer who read four poems, each one with inspiring messages about following dreams and not giving up. A Columbus resident originally from Maryland, Howell said Columbus does not have as many poetry readings or open mics for presenting your own writing as bigger cities like Atlanta. Howell used to read his poetry on the radio, but has not had many other opportunities to read his poems to an audience. He added he would definitely perform at the library again, if given the opportunity.
Benjamin Davis is another performer who said he would take to the library’s stage again if the opportunity arose. He recently moved to Columbus from Wisconsin and has been looking for ways to get involved in the community. He learned about the open mic at the library Monday morning and signed up at the last minute.
Davis performed spoken word that he wrote himself, a rhythmic bit of slam poetry that had the audience applauding and cheering for him by the end. The piece was inspired by the adolescent stage of Davis’s life when he became a young father who was not allowed to see his daughter because her mother would not let him. Davis said the only way he got through that period of his life was to give himself to God and find ways to talk about the experience, which he did through his poetry.
The audience did not just hear poems, however.
Local novelist James Tracy read part of a short story he’s been working on, and musicians who would normally frequent the late-night atmosphere of bars like the Elbow Room and The Princess Theatre played their songs for a new audience at a new venue.
Ortega would like to make the open mic an annual event at the library, or possibly host it more often than that.
“There’s a bunch of great talent locally, hidden in bars and churches,” she said.
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