Went to a poetry slam at a coffee shop in Pittsburgh and it changed my mind about open mic nights

I always thought poetry slams were just for drama kids trying to sound deep. But last Tuesday I went to The Beehive in Pittsburgh with my neighbor who performs there, and the first woman up read a short piece about her father's work boots that hit me harder than I expected. The whole room went quiet for a second after she finished, which never happens at the open mics I've seen. Has anyone else had a live reading or performance completely shift their opinion on a type of writing?

2 comments

2 Comments

adam_nguyen71mo ago

Man, I totally get what you mean. I used to roll my eyes at spoken word stuff, thought it was all just people being dramatic for attention. But I went to a reading at a bar in Philly last year where this guy did a piece about his mom's hands after working all day in a factory, and I swear I felt it in my chest. Something about hearing the words out loud with the room dead silent just makes it hit different than reading it on a page. It definitely made me realize there's a lot more depth to it than I gave credit for.

rosek441mo ago

Forget the performance for a second. Think about the writing itself. Spoken word forces you to cut every useless word. Can't hide behind fancy descriptions or long sentences. The audience will tune out. You have to make every single word earn its place. That piece you heard? It probably took 50 drafts to get that tight.