Pärlā Creative Festival Presents: Open Mic Poetry & Hip-Hop Night
Letterman’s Lounge
Sept. 21, 2023
“Good poets talk about the loss. Great poets teach you how to win.”
These words were spoken by Phetote Mshairi, a local poet and Tulsa Artist Fellow, who performed last week from a makeshift stage at Letterman’s Lounge.
At this quaint spot, tucked behind a breezeway in a strip mall plaza, Thursday nights are usually reserved for open mic hip-hop. But on this night J’Parlé and the Underground Collective decided to collaborate, creating a space for both poets and rappers to show up. And believe me, they did.
Poetry in Tulsa is in a renaissance right now. If you haven’t gotten into it, now is the time. Founded by poet Jerica Wortham, J’Parlé is one of the organizations at the forefront of the movement. Wortham is a mogul in her own right, leading many efforts such as the Greenwood Art Project and (B)Light Tulsa, as well as helping authors self-publish their work under the J’Parlé imprint. Her work crosses multiple genres: for instance, she was one of the pivotal voices in the “Shining” video from the Fire in Little Africa project. With the annual Pärlā Creative Festival, she brings these threads together through art, fashion, food, photography, film, and literary events that serve as an outlet for local BIPOC creatives.
At this open mic night, one of the most intriguing events of the 2023 festival’s wide-ranging lineup, poetry was in the air as Wortham and her friends took the stage. One of those was Anthony Brinkley, who has performed for the Moth Radio Hour across the country as well as right here in Tulsa for many years.
At first, his poem felt unexciting, but as he continued, each line added another layer of depth. “There’s a fire on 36th Street North” repeated throughout the poem, each time showing how close the fire could get to a man who thought it wasn’t his problem. It ended with an important lesson: “Their fire is our fire.”
In addition to the local poets on the roster, this event featured Brooklyn-based Tehut Nine and New York Times best-selling author Omar Tyree, who recited poems from his latest book, Poetry: For the Love of Black Women. Tyree hit the stage with a confidence and an East Coast accent that projected through the room. His enunciations punctuated every syllable, his words caressing time with a rhythmic pulse.
The best thing about an open mic night is that you’ll be thinking you’ve heard everything, and the next thing you know, an artist unknown to you will take the stage and blow you away. As the evening shifted to feature hip-hop artists, the standout performer was MarDaGreat, who rapped with such passion and assurance that he reminded me of a 2Pac or a DMX. There’s magic that happens when someone’s music connects with you, and that’s why it’s important to go to open mics in Tulsa: to experience the connection you didn’t expect.
Letterman’s Lounge, possibly the most vibrant hip-hop spot in Jenks, will continue to host open mic nights on Thursdays. In taking over the space for this evening of poetry, J’Parlé continued its work as an outlet for writers to be unapologetically themselves, teaching people how to win by shaping the world with their words.
Next for Ryan: Groundwaves
Next from J’Parlé: Benefactors Ball, Nov. 25
