By Lizzy Tsuang
Circulation Editor
Words come to life as Costa students step into the world of poetry.
Redondo Poets holds open mics every Tuesday at the Coffee Cartel in Redondo Beach. During the readings, 15 to 18 open mic readers perform along with the featured poet of the night. Readers perform multitudes of poetry works, ranging from free verse to rap-inspired.
“The purpose is to offer an open-mic venue with a non-judgemental feel where creative people can express themselves in their own voice,” Redondo Poets co-host Jim Doane said. “We focus on poets, spoken-word performers and the occasional singer-songwriter.”
According to Redondo Poets co-host Larry Colker, the poetry nights offer readers opportunities for self-expression, self-discovery and self-realization. Readers range in age, style and purpose, but are ultimately connected in their shared passion for poetry.
“The reading offers a place to hear a range of styles and subjects, which can open up possibilities for one’s writing that one has not considered before,” Coler said. “It also inspires some people who have never written a poem, or never performed a poem in front of an audience, to take that first scary step. Primarily, it offers a sense of connection. One of our strongest needs is to be known and to be accepted by others. Exercising one’s creativity is just one means of seeking that.”
The Redondo Poets is a group workshop created in the mid-1990s that has been hosting readings at the Coffee Cartel since 1998, according to Colker. Colker and Doane have been co-hosting together for about 15 years.
“The Redondo Poets at the Coffee Cartel is special because it is one of the most vibrant and dynamic readings in southern California,” Doane said. “Our focus is on developing and promoting new voices while showcasing established talent.”
Costa students are found at every poetry night, whether listening in the crowd or performing on stage. According to Doane, student performers add diversity and provide unique perspectives to the open mics.
“I am in constant awe of the talent, energy, and fearlessness of topic that performers from schools like Mira Costa bring to the mic,” Doane said. “Hosting every week, I see performers and artists explore their creative voice.”
A frequent performer, junior Miriam Sachs reads original poems every week during the open mics and has been featured with Vistamar senior Julia Horwitz. For the featured reading, Sachs and Horwitz compiled a collection of their poems and drawings that they presented and sold throughout the night.
“It was really cool to read because it’s awesome to see that our work is inspiring and good enough to be spotlighted for a night,” Sachs said. “It was nice to share our work with people in the community. The reading made me more confident in my writing and allowed me to experiment more. I was able to read stuff I wouldn’t normally read at a performance and I got to share some of my less conventional poems that were closer to my heart.”
Junior Taylor Colbert is also one of many Costa students who attends regularly. Instead of reading poetry, Colbert expresses her creativity through songs she performs at the open mics. However, to Colbert, the open mics offer far more than a place to perform.
“I love the open mics because of the warm and welcoming environment,” Colbert said. “The enthusiastic poets and musicians come and hang out together on what would otherwise be a boring Tuesday night. It always brightens up my week and helps me forget about stress from school and work.”
To encourage further student participation, English teacher Diana Sieker is putting together a poetry night where she will be featured with Costa students. The open mic will be held in June.
“Our intention behind this poetry night at Coffee Cartel is pretty simple,” Sieker said. “I really dig poetry, and I love finding ways for my students to be able to share their poetry out loud.”
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