ART OF WORDS: Poets’ Open Mic

This monthly event is a great opportunity for adults and young adults to practice performance skills in front of a small audience, receive feedback, and get inspiration for creating new performance pieces. This month, co-hosts Tamell “Big” Bailey and CathyB welcome featured poet Lisa Spears to the Aiken County Public Library (ACPL). Lisa Spears is from Peoria, Illinois and spent most of her life in the midwest. She resides in Charleston, SC and currently teaches English at Daniel Jenkins Academy to high school students experiencing trauma.

Lisa received her Master’s of English degree at Western Illinois University in 2007 and her Master’s of Fine Arts degree at Eastern Washington University in 2017. She is a single mother of two daughters and has three granddaughters. She moved to Charleston to pursue her writing career and live by the ocean.

About her book, Releasing Birds, Lisa says, “This book pays homage to the inner landscape of a journey. Although the lines are black and white, every truth is color. I hope to give credence to that. My mother taught me to look for the birds on every walk. ‘When you don’t see them…listen.’ I am listening…still.”

Open mic signup for a 5-minute maximum-length performance begins at 5:30pm on day of the event

Suggested Theme for April 2025 is “Journey”

The show starts at 6:00pm in the first-floor meeting room

For more information, call 803-642-2020 ext 3
or email hosts cathyb@abbe-lib.org or bailey@bigbailey.com