Ghost Town Open Mic Poetry Reading in Vancouver WA

Featuring Janis Harrington and Victor Griggs. Many other local authors read their poems. The Open Mic session went from 7 pm to 10 pm. A diverse crowd of listeners and readers.

Full Information at Printed Matter, April 2025

I thoroughly enjoyed the last three Open Mic events in our Vancouver downtown. Listening to live readings and meeting poets has greatly expanded my understanding in many positive ways. I could hardly sleep last night after these profound experiences. Some of the readings brought tears to my eyes.

Reading out load to an audience is a Performance Art, an Acting Art! I need to improve my skills in this area.

I purchased a book by Janis Harrington. I was able to talk with her before the event began. A classy lady with a sharp mind! Her poem about being a girl in a Catholic School brought back many memories of mind; because, I attended Catholic School classrooms in grades 1st to 12th.

I read my collage poem: The Bottom Line.

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic in Vancouver WA on Facebook

Open Mic Poetry Readings that I have attended.

25 Steps and Beyond:
The Collected Works of Mike Garofalo

Birdhous Books Poetry Reading

On the First Friday of each month, Birdhouse Books in downtown Vancouver, Washington State, hosts an open mic poetry reading as well as featuring particular poets. The poetry session begins at 6:45 pm.

Full Information at Printed Matter March 2025

This bookstore will be closing, and hopefully moving, in the next couple of months. It is located down some steep steps below a coffee shop.

Tonight, the featured reader was Morgan Paige. She was a skilled performer, great voice, engaging poems. She read mostly from her book "Blue Morpho." I was very impressed by her outstanding performance.

Birdhouse Books, 1001 Main St., Vancouver, corner of Evergreen, will host First Friday Poetry Night with Morgan Paige from 7 to 8:30 p.m. May 2, in conjunction with downtown Vancouver’s First Friday Art Walk. Paige is a poet, visual artist, entrepreneur and co-host of Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic Night at Art at the Cave Gallery. Her book of memoir poetry, “Blue Morpho,” details her journey to Costa Rica in 2018.

25 Steps and Beyond:
The Collected Works of Mike Garofalo

Open Mic Poetry Reading in Vancouver WA

 

An Open Mic Poetry Reading was held from 3-5 pm at the downtown central library of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library System. We met in the spacious and attractive Columbia Room in the library.

Around 25 people attended this poetry reading. Library staff welcomed the attendees and briefly covered the ground rules for appropriate readings in a public libary setting. Refreshments were provided.

The current poet-laureate for Clark County, Susan Dingle, shared some of her poems from her Master’s Thesis. She gave the name of each person before they read their poems. I did not remember the names of so many readers.

Three people shared haiku or short poems. Most read longer poems from their cell phones. One man had memorized his poem, and beautifully acted it out for us. Women and men shared their compositions.

This was the first time I had ever read one of my poems to an audience. But, I did not mention this to the audience. I was calm and confident. I read my poem titled: A Fork in the Crypto Road.

Many poems were of a confessional nature about the poet’s addictions, mental illness, losses, sadness, Striking images and metaphors were prevalent. Most were free verse compositions. A couple of poems were accounts of travel experiences and thoughts

I enjoyed myself. I sat next to a young college student, Kameron, a history major at WSU Vancouver, and we chatted a good deal. Her father had just retired and moved to Kalama WA for fishing. Her poem was about her dad.

I met Jacob Seltzer, a Master Level haiku and tanka poet. I also met my new online Zoom poetry teacher, Christopher Luna. I spoke briefly with Sarah Hooker, a Haiku poet.

At the Edges of the West
Highway 101 and 1

25 Steps and Beyond: The Collected Works
By Mike Garofalo