Warehouse 21’s poetry open mics need a revitalization
By Chloe Davis, SFR Intern
Warehouse 21 Open Mic Poetry Night
7 pm
every Wednesday
Warehouse 21
1614 Paseo de Peralta
989-4423
A life can be changed by a small occurrence or a large event. The weekly poetry readings at Warehouse 21, which started summer of 2008, in terms of size are somewhere in-between, but no less life-changing for many of Santa Fe’s youth. The poetry readings used to get up to 100 people per week, but lately have been suffering from a lack of interest and inspiration. With any luck, one day soon, with the leadership of Warehouse 21’s youth organizers, they will be able to reach as many people as they did in the early days of the event.
The Warehouse 21 open mic poetry nights were started almost two years ago by three Santa Fe teens: Joey (whose last name remains a mystery), Mike Gore and Joshua Keeler. The three started the event for their peers, but not at Warehouse 21. They were held every Sunday night in Cathedral Park and, at first, would consist only of four or five teens, some reading and some simply listening. Soon, however, people walking past could no longer ignore the kids yelling poetry at the top of their lungs (or presenting strange Pac Man-related performance art, as depicted in the above image), before long there were 20 or more people flooding the park once a week to listen to the talents of Santa Fe’s youth. There was often a PA system brought to avoid the screaming. Soon enough the readings incorporated music as well.
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