Getting Lost

When I was thinking about getting lost, I started to think about what it really means to not be lost. I know that when i am NOT lost I know exactly where I am in relation to others, what is going on around me, and possibly what others around me are busy doing or maybe some slight idea of what they are thinking. When I am not lost. I know what to expect, in my brain lies an idea of several ideas of how things might pan out, how I can expect to feel, how I would enjoy or not enjoy the experience at all. Even when lost in a strange place or situation, if I am with another person I know rather well, I am almost not lost at all.

I found the idea of traveling to some random farm or neighborhood to not be for me, so I tried to think a little outside of the box on this one. Hopefully I got it right. I had the opportunity to go see an open mic poetry night. A girl I've known from school named Barbara Fant would be reading. I've known Barbara for awhile, but I have never spent time with her outside of small talk during passing. She gave me directions to where I was going, a little coffee shop called Urban Spirit on 17th and Long.

I actually couldn't find the loft where the poets were reading until Barbara found me in the coffee shop below. I was lost there in the physical sense, but as I went upstairs with her there sat an unexpected room of all kinds of different people in metal chairs, with a microphone in the center I was then definitely lost and almost uncomfortable. There is something magical about going to a brand new place for the first time. Its almost dreamlike (at least to me).

Once the poets started reading, there was an amazing sense of their connection with each other. As the host called other poets up to the microphone you could get a sense of their relationships as they traded inside jokes that only I and a couple of other people didn't get. As each of them read their poems it was a beautiful thing to actually understand how often they had probably shared these poems, and how well they must know one another. I felt like an outsider until I noticed that many of the poets were reading to me, and there I shared a connection with them as a new viewer. Fresh ears they could enlighten and preach to.

I was completely humbled. This was something so strange to me, creating performance with words. As a visual artist, I feel like I know enough to carry on conversation about certain topics. But here, I was so out of my element. In a world I barely understood yet could fully comprehend at the same time. As these new people embraced my presence, I felt at ease and more comfortable as they shared words and tried to talk to me. It was an amazing experience, in that I traveled to a strange place with no idea of what could happen, and experienced something so unexpectedly beautiful and uplifting. It was truly a blessing.

From this experience I learned a couple of things. First, I need to work on making myself feel more uncomfortable and traveling outside of my element more often. I was scared and afraid to go hear these poets, simply because I didn't want to feel stupid and awkward or as an outsider. We get so used to thinking a certain way, and doing the same things, we lose desire to discover and become scared of the new. Next, I furthermore grasped the concept of locality. Although these people probably do not live in the same neighborhood, they all meet at the same time every week (if not more) to share something they are all passionate about. Locality can mean several things, not just geographical. As I met up with Barbara later that week, she began to talk about Poetry Slams, and competitions she participates in, her poetry teams, and all of the people she has met merely through the poetry world. She talked about people from Chicago, New York and National competitions. It was just amazing to get a glimpse into a world I had never known existed. It was probably one of the most beneficial creative experiences I've ever had.

If anyone wants to go to see Barbara's Slam it is on Tuesday at 8:00 PM. This event is supposed to be a lot bigger than last week, and I fell in love with it despite Barbara telling me that it was a smaller and less exciting show. I'm going so we can meet at school and I'll drive.

I found this video of Barbara performing a Poetry Slam at Urban Spirit. This isn't from when I went, but I thought it would be helpful so you guys could experience a little bit of what I did. She is really talented. COME WITH ME TUESDAY!!