Making Connections

I've been super busy. The end of my first year in grad school is coming up fast, so I have a lot of projects and papers to finish in a short period of time.

Last Friday night, March 23, my friend Sarah and I went to this place called Connections in Oakland for an opening of Sarah's friend Moshe's art show. They had delicious food, wine, and an open mic. Sarah and I were the only two people to read poetry. I must say, Sarah rocks at delivery. She really wants to get into slam poetry, and I can see why. She's a natural. I was nervous about going on after her, but things went pretty well. I read some old work, written for a poetry workshop last year, that I have already read in public, so it was the cliche piece of cake.

I'm not normally a public reader. This was the first time I have ever read to a room of almost complete strangers. But afterwards I had a guy come up to me and started talking to me about my poetry, and I started to think maybe I should go out and read more. Although I don't think my poems are meant for oral delivery as much as Sarah's are, just knowing that their are intellegent people out there who want to hear and discuss poetry is amazing, and Pittsburgh is a hub for poets. So, watch out! I may be coming to a venue in the Pittsburgh area near you sometime soon.

I've come to realize that making connections is a major part of being a writer. A lot of writers are, by nature, shy and reserved. But to really make it, one must break through that, travel outside their usual four walls, and take risks.