The First Time
I’ve met many talented poets over the past few years…award-winning, slam champion, crowd fave poets. And as much as they’ve inspired me, no poet can touch my soul quite like the “virgin to the mic.” It’s always such an honor to be present when someone steps to the mic for the very first time. It could be described as an almost sacred moment. It’s in that moment that one human being makes a commitment to share some of their most intimate thoughts with a roomful of other human beings, who may be friends or complete strangers. The experience can be different for every poet, but liberating is how it’s often described. And it’s usually just the beginning.
I was blessed to be in the house as Yolanda “SavvyYo” Polk made her open mic poetry debut at 30something Entertainment’s February set. Born in Bardstown, KY, SavvyYo has called Louisville home since she was six years old. As do most poets, she considers poetry to be therapy. She was both thrilled and inspired by Maya Angelou’s visit to Canaan Christian Church last year. After giving herself a pep talk for nearly a year, she found herself putting her name on 30something’s open mic list. Her nerves were lessened by the feeling of being surrounded by family and friends. After years of listening and relating to other poets’ words, SavvyYo shared a part of her soul with the crowd that night. Twelve years of journaling prepared her for three minutes on the mic.
Perhaps what she wasn’t prepared for was a little too much noise coming from the crowd. Every poet experiences, sooner or later, a table…a corner of the room…or an entire crowd that just doesn’t respect the moment. No getting around it. It’s rude. But it’s part of the spoken word experience. Much like a comedian dealing with hecklers. And it’s also a learning experience. There’s a lot that goes into the few minutes that a poet’s on the mic. And one of those things is learning to channel your emotions and put them into your delivery, instead of delivering a sucker punch to a noisy audience member. Thankfully, SavvyYo kept her cool and enjoyed her first time on the mic enough to want to make a return trip.
And that’s what the first open mic experience is all about…getting just enough to create the addiction.
