You Can Find My Poetry Tribe in Leimert Park

Wednesday Is Open Mic Night at the World Stage, Where I’ve Been a Regular Since 1992

Most Wednesday nights, you can find me at the World Stage in Leimert Park. The love offering requested at the door is $5, but no one is turned away. The doors open at 7:30 p.m. and V Kali—money handler, prayer warrior, and the blessed heart of the Stage—greets us all at the door in long locks braided together down to her calves. For the first hour, writers read work they want critiqued. Then a featured artist reads. Finally, the host pulls names out of a bucket and poets are called …