NYC Day 6 - BKLYN.

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During my 6th day in NYC, I spent some of my free time in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Williamsburg is a really cool community, but all of the new construction projects in the area will probably bring major changes in the coming years. The last time I was here was only this past February, and it already looks a lot different than I remember!

Greenpoint is an interesting place, too. It's got a small town feel that complements neighboring Williamsburg nicely. I really like the fact that New York still has a lot of independent businesses, unlike Los Angeles's unending gallery of chains. I hope that doesn't change as time goes on.

I'm really having a lot of fun here in New York, and I'm sad that I'll soon have to come back to Los Angeles. But, L.A. has its perks, too; you just can't beat L.A.'s weather. And it looks like I'll be leaving New York just as it's about to get COLD!

The FlyPoet Showcase

"They say that it's now or never. I say that it is now. Not never. It is now." - Sekou the Misfit

Every month, I have the privilege of being part of an event called The FlyPoet Showcase. FlyPoet's main goal is to bring "underground talent" into the light and regularly features musicians, dancers, and spoken word artists from all around the country that are on the "up and up".

In the most recent showcase on this past Wednesday, the lineup included the incredible Sekou tha Misfit and Steven Connell.

Both Sekou and Steve were great when they performed solo. However, they decided to perform a joint piece at the end of the night, and it was beyond anything that I could have ever imagined.

They performed a piece on the concept of love, and while I have come to let myself believe that anything written about love is cliche and boring, they completely surprised me by presenting a seemingly unending list of new definitions for the word.

Poets have the ability to give new definitions to words that you thought you knew. With each new piece I hear, I feel as if I am being let in on a special hidden part of the English language; poetry allows us to enter an arcane place of communication that is otherwise inaccessible as we are distracted by the daily routines of our lives.

I love being a part of this event, not only because I have the opportunity to share my own work with others, but mostly because I get to see amazing poets perform. Spoken word is an art form that is largely ignored in the mainstream -- except for maybe when Maya Angelou speaks at a political event or when Def Poetry Jam airs on cable -- and it is an immensely powerful form of artistic expression that definitely deserves to be seen and heard.

Thanks to John Hensley, for putting together such a great event every month!