by Shilanda Woolridge

There are many places to experience poetry in Austin. When taken at face value one may feel that they can't tell one venue from the other. Granted, each and every venue will have a microphone, an amplifier system, and an audience; but each space has a different flavor, atmosphere, and theme. The person who started the venue had an idea of what he or she wanted, and then watched that spark light a flame with the participation of regulars. As an outsider who isn't a regular to any poetry venue, I could easily show up and write dry facts about what I see and leave it at that. The What, Where, and When are the easy part. The Who and the Why are another story all together. So I went to the proprietors of two word venues, the Ebony Sun Java House and Blast Your Own Breath @ Movements Gallery, and let them do all the talking.

Ebony Sun Java House

As silly as this may sound, I've found myself wondering if the Ebony Sun Java House is named after Marla Fulgam, one of It's owners. Anyone who has met Marla knows she is a never-ending source of energy and warmth, whose bright smile lights up the place. We shared many laughs and kept wandering off-topic as she told me the story of the Ebony Sun Java House's beginning.

When working on a business plan, I wanted a venue for creative arts -- a place where we could have visual art, music, literary groups, a songwriting group, and other events. The coffee house would earn money on the side. Since I'm a writer, I tried to develop what I wanted and what was lacking. There is diversity at other places, and I can go to other places. However, there was no place where I could feel at home. Sometimes black people don't feel comfortable expressing themselves in other venues. I don't know why. I don't have a problem with it, but some do. So I wanted to have a comfortable and homey feel. The Ebony Sun is a coffee house, not a coffee shop. Back in Harlem, we would meet in people's homes and read poetry, and that's the atmosphere I was moving towards. When we started, the place was a mess. There was junk all over the place, but we had a vision.

That vision is thriving; one of the most successful parts of it is the East Side Black and White Poets that meet every other Thursday. This event is emceed by Stazja McFayden and is the glue that brought her and Marla together. The East Side Black and White poets were in full swing before they found a home at the Ebony Sun. Stazja speaks of their humble beginnings.

It tore me up that that neighborhood [East Austin], once so culturally rich, had deteriorated to the ghetto tableau I found there. I wanted to do something about it. I found East End Coffee House, on E. 13th Street, made a presentation to Spencer Alldridge, It's proprietor, who had a similar purpose. He agreed to let me start up the monthly East End B&W poets, third Thursdays of each month. We got it off the ground in October 1997. From the start, it was a righteous mix of poets, young and old, black and white, east side/west side, north and south. Never a big crowd, but always a high spirited one.

In the meantime, Marla was getting things ready for the opening of the Ebony Sun.

I was reading the Chronicle, and I noticed a poetry reading was going to take place right around the corner. I decided to go check it out. I also wanted to make sure that our coffee houses didn't have events at the same time; that way everyone would be free to hang out at both places. At the reading, there was a nice little group there, but it was the last reading because the place was closing down. I was sad, but a light bulb went off in my head.

Stazja continues:

When I announced the closing of the venue, Marla stood up and said she was opening Ebony Sun Java House only a few blocks away, and invited B&W Poets there. Without missing a beat, we had our February show at our new home, with Floyd Freeman and Marvin Kimbrough featuring. The venue name changed from East End B&W to East Side B&W when we moved out of East End Coffee House. There have been a couple spin-off venues, including Edward "Chippie" Powell's "That's Poetry To Me" Po-Jazz at Ebony Sun Java House on other Thursdays than East Side B&W, and Ivan "Ivanho" Miller's new Tuesday night readings at Whole Bean Coffee House -- progeny with different formats. Marla also has her monthly "Midnight Love" readings at Ebony Sun, usually last Saturday of the month. I wanted to make a safe environment for poets, and anyone: one that transcends barriers of race, gender, nationality, age, economic standing, geographical location, occupation, religion, even the barriers within poetry such as academic vs. street poetry. That's what East Side B&W, and one of my poetic purposes, is about.

Marla's description of the East Side B&W confirms Stazja's goal and is being accomplished:

The word was getting spread about, then all of the sudden Thursdays were full! I think people want to come and listen. This is a place where the professional and amateur can come together. We've even had a few non-writers who felt motivated write poetry and read.

When a poetry venue can inspire non-writers to pick up a pen it is truly a place for creative arts, I hope Marla is proud and knows how much her little coffee house is appreciated by artists in all four corners of Austin's city limits.

Movements Gallery's Blast Your Own Breath, Wednesdays 9-10:30pm

Tammy Gomez is probably one of Austin's most outspoken and well-known poets. She has been a pillar in Austin's poetry scene and will be departing soon for a four to five month stay in Nepal. She leaves behind a legacy of word activism and activity, most notably Blast Your Own Breath [BYOB] at Movements Gallery. She was very direct and had a lot of frank things to say about poetry and her venue at Movements.

I've always honored underground fringe spaces, the places that are built from the ground up and are not commercial. Unfortunately, I meet people who deal with you only if you are getting press, or have major products. It's so subtle, that to call it out would get me labeled a racist or sexist, so I just do my work. I've earned the credibility I have in this city. Knowing I have privilege that was earned, I wanted to stay committed to using that for community benefit. A while I ago, I kept getting the same fortune in different fortune cookies. It said: "The people will trust you to use the resources in the way that's best for everyone." I took that as an A-OK from above that those resources would come; that's the way it should be for everyone.

I knew experimental musicians that performed at Movements Gallery. It's a space that encouraged the work of underground artists. In December of '97, Andrew (the owner of Movements) contacted me and he wanted a poetry venue. He trusted me to be in line with their politics. I've been doing events for years, and thought that it could be a new kind of open mike setting. When coming up with the title, I knew that Movements Gallery was BYOB [Bring Yur Own Booze], so I played with that. I didn't want to use poetry in the title, because I didn't want peoples pre-conceived notions of what poetry should be to keep them away. BYOB is not a poetry event; It's a spoken word event that is open to everyone. You may hear a cheer, chant, rant, an emotional tirade, a journal entry being read as they cry, announcements, or even a plea for help. We started in January '98 and it feels real good to support people in the space. At BYOB I don't have a sign up list and rarely introduce people by name. There is a de-emphasis on personality, the focus is on what they say.

Think about a family at a dinner table, where the mom sets things up and makes it just right. that's how I am at Movements, I provide a service to the people who come. I light candles, burn incense, and turn on the soft-focus lights. I make sure they are heard as best they can be. I don't want it to become the Tammy Show. I don't have to read; in fact, sometimes I don't.

Tammy's focus on making BYOB inclusive has stretched past the Austin city limits. Even if you can't make it to Movements Gallery in person, you can listen online through your computer. According to Tammy:

We've been webcasting for five months. As far as I know we have the only reading that's webcast over the Internet. We've had people from different states logon and listen, and they can send our computer text messages. If they want to read, they send us a text message we change a few settings and they can read their poem from wherever they are. Everyone in Movements can hear them. It's like they are really there.

I created a space where poets, writers, and performers could share with activists, single moms on welfare, and students from other cities. Creating a blend that evokes a feeling of tolerance inspiration and respect so that by the end of the night on Wednesday, weve created a microcosm of what Austin should be. It's the commonality of sharing work that makes the experience. The warmth and respect keeps people coming back."

If you would like to BYOB over the Internet, point your browser to: www.movementsgallery.com/spokenword/spokenword.htm, and follow the instructions.