22 Comments
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Julie Dee's avatar

I don’t know which is worse - Knowing someone who fits this description or wondering if you fit this description for someone else. *Awkward* 😂😂

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Susie Mawhinney's avatar

I think worse still is knowing you fit the description! I feel an evening of personal dissection looming... 🫣

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Marc Typo's avatar

This sounds like a battle rap. Love it!

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Ken Paul Rosenthal's avatar

Well said! Listen to Vampyre Mike literally doing a battle rap on the recording, 'A Night At Cafe Babar' available here:

https://www.betweenspiritandstonethefilm.com/support/merch/

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Jamie Millard's avatar

We were never the poet. We were always the poem.

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Jim Duffey's avatar

Here,hear ! Well said indeed!

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Ted Hope's avatar

Is Substack the equivalent of the Open Mic Night at the pub? Is the "publish" button the equivalent of two whiskeys to the wind to wind up the courage to step forward and spew? May we all not generate such feelings as our fingers hit the keyboard!

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Timothy Fitzpatrick's avatar

Feck sake ..I feel guilty laughing but I almost spit my coffee out!

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Jo Sundberg's avatar

This is brilliant. I love the humour and honesty. The kind of thoughts many of us have at an open mic night, but don't want to admit.... They are also the thoughts that we may have about our own writing in the "dark nights of the soul".

At my local open mic night, after gushing myself over everyone like the bomb which had indeed now exploded, they reduced the time allowance for ever more to 5 minutes. I tried not to take it personally.

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MyriamO's avatar

I just bought this book, "Embracing your inner critic". I wonder if it's a sign...

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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

Is that on writing or a poetry collection?

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MyriamO's avatar

It's on writing and art in general, by Hal and Sidra Stone

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Macy Hudgins's avatar

I feel the frustration so well!

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Josh Dean's avatar

Reminds me of an open reading I attended a few weeks ago where one person just had a list of grievances listed in blank verse. It hurt.

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Patris's avatar

I had to put my coffee down.

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Weston Parker's avatar

Very funny, killer funny. I wonder what year it was written.

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Ken Paul Rosenthal's avatar

You can hear Vampyre Mike read his poetic proclamation, 'Just Say No To Despair' on a 62-minute collection of incendiary, flamboyant readings featuring 12 other poets called, 'A Night At Cafe Babar', available here: https://www.betweenspiritandstonethefilm.com/support/merch/

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Conny Borgelioen's avatar

"Now you lurk at open readings like an unexploded bomb" I love that line! I can sense the pent-up energy.

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Laurie Luongo's avatar

I feel that way about many musical open mics...I only want to hear Bob Gulian, but a few others are bearable.

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Bee Gee's avatar

So say we all! 🤣🤣🤣

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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

This is a slap about the schmuck because he is in every poetry reading there to reveal his presence, present and past. “You read for just 5 minutes but it was 30 years too long.”

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