At 7p.m. on Tuesday, August 7,2001 two reporters [ myself and Rocky Kabir] were sent out to interview the directors, poets and crowd of poetry night, at Jimmy's Cafe on 135th Street in Harlem.

The director of this event was Serenity Maksa, also called the M.C. Serenity, who attended the Performing School of the Arts High School and Suny Purchase College, in Syracuse , Upstate New York. Ms. Maksa told me that she majored in acting and became an actress around '96 or '97 . She then slowly started involving herself in the world of poetry.

As a child, Ms. Maksa wanted to be an artist which is why she entered into the world of poetry. Ms. Maksa said the reason why she and a friend created poetry night was to provide a foundation, and to let others express themselves. The directors of this poetry night would like to begin teaching about the music of poetry in schools. She feels that cultural understanding, entertainment and life experiences without judgement can be created with Tuesday ' s poetry night. Their goal is to have people hear the music in poetry, instead of always hearing everyone talk about Missy Eliot, JZ etc. Ms. Maksa says she wants people to be able to have a place they can go to to have fun, relax, be entertained and read and listen to poetry. Elders, young people, adults and different cultures are able to come and enjoy themselves.

A Word from the Crowd

Karon Gibson, who works as a bartender at Jimmy's Cafe, says she comes to poetry night because she believes sharing ideas with others is important. She believes these nights help people to share and listen to passionate things and also to
share loves.

Aisha was the first person called to read her poem. When reading Aisha used her voice and body to act it out. Aisha says she enjoys having a free creative experience and feels alive on stage. Aisha's journal entrees are what lead her to poetry. She loves to act, and she occasionally opens nights in a variety of other venues.

Mr. Frank Messina was able to read his poem after Aisha was done. He is an Italian American, from New Jersey who attended Northern Valley Regional High School and St. Thomas Aquinas College. Frank says that he attends poetry night to hear others read, because he believes people's poetry lets you know what is on the minds of others instead of wasting time watching the news. Mr. Messina has a regular gig in downtown Manhattan at a club called S.O.B, where he provides musical entertainment. He travels to different places with jazz groups and a funk band. On stage he feels great stress relief. In his poem, he paid respects to a friend of his who committed suicide.

This night has given myself and Rocky an incredibly different perspective on poetry. We intend on following up this story on poetry night at Jimmy's Café by visiting again soon.