This article was originally published in The Examiner on Dec. 1, 2016.
By Eleanor Skelton
Staff Writer
Fans of the spoken word can find a slam poetry night right here in Beaumont on the first Monday of each month at the The LogOn Café, which hosts Poetry JAM in addition to several other open mic nights for local artists.
In December, the first Monday falls on Dec. 5.
Eliot Hall hosted the first few Poetry JAM open mics, mixing in readings from his screenplays between poems. Poetry JAM started in December 2015, kicking off after a poetry event run by Lamar University’s Poetic Souls spoken word club, according to Hall.
Tack Somers, a spoken word poet and artist and Beaumont native who recently moved to New Orleans, also hosted several of the open mics this past summer. Caroline Badon of Nederland is the current host.
Monday, Nov. 7, LU’s Poetic Souls came out to the first event since the club rebooted.
The club is now reorganized under club president Ronald Smith Jr., known by his stage name Scotty, and meets in the house of club member Vilan “Ageless” Sells.
Poetry Renaissance, led by Dorothy Sells Clover, also meets every third Thursday at the Arts Studio, falling in December on the 15th.
One high school girl’s poem captured the essence of spoken word: “We are all waiting for someone to read our story and say they get us.”
Eleanor Skelton 