New Local Poetry Night Hits the Scene
Trenches Full of Poets, launched in April and hosted by Nikolai Garcia (@hellokommie), packs the house month after month.
“If you’re feeling real good, can I hear you say Pikachu?!”
The room got loud.
Jonathan Humanoid (@jonathanhumanoid) hit the mic last month at Trenches Full of Poets with incredible force, tackling mental health from all sides and expressing “how life cannot be prettied up by changing the words we use” through four original poems.
This is NOT an open mic.
This is an intentionally curated space for “diverse voices and poetry of all kinds” said last month’s host Soul on Fire (@soul_onf_ire), and it happens on the second Thursday of the month at local book store Page Against the Machine from 7-9pm.
Last month, Jonathan Humanoid joined Alex Petunia and Mike the Poet, all local to the Long Beach area, and the book store was completely full.
Nurse poet Alex Petunia (@thepoeticpetunia) opened her set with a community deep breath and shared four original poems as well. She dedicated her fourth piece, Tapestry, “to everyone who worked their ass off today.”
Her closing sentiment, “nothing broke you today,” covered everyone in the space with a comforting security blanket of warmth as Soul on Fire introduced Mike the Poet to close out the night.
“I feel underqualified to bring him up,” Soul on Fire shared between sets leading up to the final poet. “But I’m gonna do it anyway!”
Mike the Poet (@mikethepoetla) brought the evening home with a set dedicated to Long Beach and his latest work, which is focused on “excavating our own human condition.”
Trenches Full of Poets is a dynamic evening where you “come for the poetry, and stay for the books,” Soul on Fire shouted out in his promotion of the upcoming event, which takes place Thursday July 14, from 7-9pm.
Our tip? Get there early if you want to enjoy from a seat, and bring your book-buying money. These poets are incredible, and you will want to bring their work home with you.
Story by Art from Ashes Team