Kitchen Sessions are monthly (and sometimes twice monthly) spoken word and poetry events held… in my kitchen of all places. I had always wanted a home for an event like this. To be specifically intimate with our words. A reason for me to host people in my home and to emcee in front of my refrigerator. Back in July 2009, I mentioned it to my roommate Melinda, and she agreed it should happen in our home, specifically asking me to hold them on her nights of. Those have changed, but being our home, we can entertain a KS anytime we want.
The crowds are always awesome, hovering somewhere between 22-33 people. I missed the Rachel McKibbens/Rob “Ratpack Slim” Sturma double-feature in November due to travel. While they were rocking my kitchen in Worcester, I was making two gallons of clam chowder at Anis Mojgani’s house in Portland, Oregon.
Anis ate one gallon.
I am writing about this today because I am stunned by how many people ask me about them around the country. I am impressed by who asks for a feature or just to read when they come through. Poets and poetry lovers alike are making it a stop when they pass through New England. The list of readers is impressive and it makes me so happy to have a viable alternative to a venue. There is so much more freedom running a KS.
Here’s the group page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=241163070354
Join it and stay in touch. Especially if you want start your own…
McGEE’S KITCHEN SESSION FORMAT
What you’ll need:
*a space large enough for 30+ people
*a large table for food and drinks
*access to poets and writers
*a good emcee… (Should be the resident organizer, really)
*the express consent of all roommates
*space for features to crash, maybe even a neighbor’s couch nearby
*a donation collecting vessel
It’s very simple. Start an online group for your sessions. Facebook seemed like the best option since that’s where 98% of my acquaintances gather these days. LiveJournal is fading, Myspace is barely breathing and I still don’t get mailing lists…
I generally start a Kitchen Session between 8:00pm and 9:00pm, depending on whether it follows another local event. The night is split in half. The first half is for the “openers,” usually about an hour long, and the second half is for the “features” who get up to an hour to perform. Very extensive. I have people sign up for the opener by messaging me on Facebook privately. The first person to sign up goes last, second sign up goes second to last and so on. No favoriting. Openers can read up to two poems that must be debuts — NEVER BEFORE READ IN PUBLIC! That’s key to KS, I think; long features and new work. Mandatory. Also, I have never read any of my own work at KS. Never plan to, the emceeing is quite enough. It’s my time to roast anyone sitting too close. And believe me! In my house, everyone’s too close.
OTHER MANDATORY ELEMENTS
*positive attitude, leaving personal differences on the porch
*$3-5 for the feature, or buy a product from them
*a dish — homemade or bought — to be shared
*beverages to share, but no hard liquor
*energy to listen and have fun
*respect for the home, residents, neighborhood and the space
TWO KITCHEN SESSIONS THIS WEEK!
Thursday, March 25, 2010 – 8:30-ish
Kitchen Session #11
With Sonya Renee and Denise Jolly of Salt Lines
6 person opener. Sign up with me through Facebook message.
I will hold KS#12 either Friday or Saturday. Join the group and send me your vote.
I cannot decide if I want a day off after KS#11 or if I want KS-free weekend. Two in a row…? Friday off?
KS#12 will be ALL OPENERS. No feature. 16 person sign up, up to 3 poems each. All poems must be written in 2010… Brand new shit.
I already have about 7 people signed up.
Please consider holding your own home sessions. They are fantastic and pretty easy. I will help you! I will read when I am near!
While events like these have been happening for a very long time, I feel the world could use a helluva lot more of them. Let’s do this!
Living rooms! Bath rooms! Dorm rooms! Bed rooms! Garages! Bring the poets home!
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Word to the nerd.
This entry was written by , posted on 22 March, 2010 at 10:54 AM, filed under Uncategorized and tagged house party, kitchen, kitchen-sessions, live performance, mike mcgee, poetry, spoken word. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.