Open mic at SoHo Teahouse and Coffeeshop 10/4/2014

Went to an open mic at the SoHo Teahouse and Coffeeshop right in my current neighborhood, DuPont Circle in Washington, DC. I went on third, after two very good musicians and before a slew of other very good musicians. I was the odd one out, again.

I had been given the suggestion, the last time I did an open mic, that it helps to tell jokes to keep everyone interested. So this time I sort of had a comedy routine to go with my poems and lead into/out of them, recounting my day. Cheesy as it sounds, it went over quite well. Afterward everyone told me I did great. I had never gotten so much praise for reading poetry at an open mic night. Usually it's like "Oh God, there's a poet."

The poems I read were:

1. "Narrative Poem"
2. "Addy"
3. "Untitled"
4. "Tuddle Park"

"Tuddle Park" is in the book The Leopard Slug and was first published by Boston Literary Magazine. "Addy" and "Untitled" are going to be in the book Ignore This Book: Songs of Discomfort. "Addy" was first published by 1947 Journal, whereas "Untitled" was originally accepted for the anthology Rabbit Ears (currently in limbo). "Narrative Poem" is likely to be in Ignore This Book, Too: Songs of Comfort which is planned for 2015.