“The Reunion”: a Celebration of Spoken Word Poetry in New Orleans

I fell in love with spoken word poetry on the corner of Fulton and Julia Streets. Literally on the corner. With my journal in hand, I stood on the sidewalk and read a poem out loud…to other people…for the first time. That was January 1999, when I was in still in high school (shh…don’t tell my mother, she still thinks that I was at a friend’s house that night). Pozazz Productions was the name of the group that held the Friday night open-mic shows at then True Brew Café (now Feast New Orleans), and now, those same people who heard me stutter through a poem are family.

All right, fast forward eleven years: past those track suits that were made of nylon and “wooshed” as you walked in them, past the return of bell bottom jeans, and even past the hurricane. Like so many things Post-Katrina, Pozazz Productions did not return to its originally scheduled programming of weekly open-mic shows. Instead, we (I’ve been a proud member of Pozazz since 2004), chose to pop up at various locations throughout the city, have a great night of poetry and then fade back into New Orleans spoken word history. Funny thing, we actually retired in 2008, content with letting our proverbial jersey hang among the rafters, take our final bows, and say good night. Or so we thought…

Pozazz Productions: the latest victims of Brett Farve syndrome. You can cue The Jackson 5’s “Never Can Say Goodbye” now.

This Friday, August 27th, 2010, at the Broad Street Café, we are back for a show that is simply called “The Reunion.” A time for us who miss what we used to do on Friday nights to get together, hear some great poetry (better than Def Poetry Jam, but I am biased), and spend time with family, some of whom I may see every day, most I haven’t seen since the last time we came out of retirement. Show starts at 11pm. The cost to get in is $10. For me, the host, Charley V, and his wardrobe changes, along with Dynamite D.J. Dave Soul’s well-timed musical selections, is worth twice the cover charge.

Friday, August 27th
11:00pm
Broad Street Café
2005 North Broad St.

Tagged as: Broad Street Cafe, Charley V, Def Poetry Jam, Dynamite D.J. Dave Soul, Feast New Orleans, GoNOLA, New Orleans, Pozazz Productions, spoken word poetry