“Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.”—Leonard Cohen

Perhaps you’ve suffered through a whack poetry scene before. Memories of the ramblings of disheveled, pale kids competing with each other at sounding “most likely to slit their own wrists” come to mind. If not that, perhaps Def Poetry Jam wannabes in oversized clothes putting as little message as possible around expletives. Or maybe women of all shapes and sizes bashing every man in sight rings familiar. Perchance, you’ve endured “professional college students” or “revolution pimps” spouting half-baked conspiracies and four year-old Iraq war stats to impress some girl in the audience right out of her high-riding, tattoo-blocking thong.

You can probably see them all in your mind, up against brick walls or huddled up in corners, chain smoking to look obsessive and self-destructive. Maybe that sucks to you because you’d really like to hear somebody step up to the mic and bring it.

Richmonders are in luck. This summer is an ideal time to see how hot the poetry scene here is. The spots are easy to find and guarantee your introduction to some engaging, memorable artists.

The Tuesday night poetry reading called “Verses” at Tropical Soul restaurant (314 N. Second St.) is a respectable place to start. The walls’ orange and scarlet splotches over a gold background give off a spicy effect, tempered by the cool tones of African-themed paintings and the scent of jasmine incense. Lorna Pickney holds court over the proceedings, welcoming the crowd with her down-home, maternal flair as backup band, Chicken Grease, holds her down something lovely.

The May 29 installment featured “Verses” vets like Al Roker taking the stage, performing house favorites like “Black Coffee.” Jamilla followed, taking requests from a crowd so supportive that it sings along when singers take the stage and draw blanks to lyrics. Roscoe B. left the crowd in deep thought before hurrying off to business elsewhere. It was as though the poets come not only to try out their untested material, or for the applause, but for fellowship and temporary refuge from the madness of everyday life.

“I wanted to have a place people can go when they have a bad day,” Pickney said between introducing poets and cracking jokes at the mike. “A place different from all the stuff that’s on the radio. An alternative.” Pickney and Tropical Soul owner Nadira Chase have done just that for the past five years. So much so that it’s foolish to think you can find a seat if you come later than a half hour before “Verses” begins.

Poets like the slim, tireless Brother Manifest and old-school influenced rapper Texas P. proudly claim “Verses” to be Cap City’s only conscious spot for hip-hop and poetry. “It’s family in here,” says Manifest of the atmosphere. This is felt most during intermission, when Pickney infuses the Jackson Ward restaurant with the atmosphere of a southern church by insisting everyone walk across the room to meet someone they’ve never met before. You can’t help leaving hoping there’s more where that came from. And there is, thanks to the “staples.”

Staples are spoken word artists that have come up through the Verses forum and branched out into other artistic projects. One such staple is Tom Sanchez Prunier, president of SlamRichmond, who states that Verses is the “mothership of the spoken word” scene in Richmond.

Such outgrowth would lead you to events like the Poetry Slam at the Downtown Public Library that took place during June’s First Friday festivities. Friends of the library and high school students (mostly from nearby Roosevelt High) gathered by the fountain to enjoy local talent under the balmy sunset. Prunier presided over the event, which awarded the soulful and multi-talented Narrator (also a staple of the Verses scene) as Grand Champion. Lyrical sage Iman Shabazz came in second, with the fiery Jae and Craig Watson in third and fourth place.

Each possessed their own individual style and held true to it as the rounds progressed. None of them were poets who change up in order to draw the oohs and ahhs of the crowd with clever wordplay alone.

This is what you hope for in a poetry scene and this is what you’ll find in Richmond (if you know where to look): poets—at all levels, in all flavors—coming with the truth and power of their own existence.

Check it out:

www.myspace.com/tuesdayverses

www.myspace.com/slamrichmond

Very nicely written. Your language and from the soul tone definetley set the pace for this article. Your very charismatic round da way boy word play is intoxicating. All in all Good Job.