This August marked Poetry in the Boro’s third birthday, and it was wonderful to realize that quite a few people in attendance this month were also there at our very first event on that hot, hot night in the back room of the Green Dragon. During the August 2016 Boro Art Crawl, we packed that little space with over 30 people. Every chair was taken, and some folks even sat on the concrete floor.
Three years later, the air conditioning at the Walnut House was cranked up high and working great – and we had to bring in a couple of extra chairs for over 60 in attendance! We shared chocolate birthday cake and some great statistics and news to mark our birthday. In the past 3 years, Poetry in the Boro has
- hosted 33 local events
- served as a platform for 53 featured readers, 2 storytellers, and 1 singer-songwriter
- provided over 2 dozen “cameo appearances” of local poets at the Boro Art Crawl
- heard over 430 contributions at the open mic, from a diverse group of people with a a diverse range of styles
- collaborated with Murfreesboro Little Theatre for several evenings of Actors Reading Poetry
- and reached an audience of well over 1,200 people – our average gathering has over 35 in attendance and 15 at open mic
We exist to inspire our community members’ creativity and connection. Of course we witness that creativity at the open mic, but we’re also seeing it in the creative opportunities that our community members are building for others:
- Chris Williams is more than a year into producing his quarterly show of comedy, poetry, art and music for the 21+ crowd, Under 1 Roof;
- Kara Kemp has launched the Bloom Stage, a project that produces quarterly multi-genre shows centered around storytelling;
- and Jenny Byrum, one of our early regulars who is currently living in Germany, is launching Poetry in the Baden. That’s right, we’re going to have a sister community event over 4,500 miles away! Who’s ready to go?
We’re also marking our birthday with a new logo, this new website, and an email newsletter (sign up below or to the right). And that brings me to thank yous:
- to the team who’s made these first three years a gift to our creative community: Amie Whittemore, Bryanna Licciardi, Gregory Lannom and Nick Bush
- to Murfreesboro Little Theatre, for being our home for two years and our partner for years to come
- to MTSU Write for their support
- to all the local businesses who’ve hosted or supported us in some way
- to Denise Wilson and Allison Boyd Justus for helping me get this dream started.
Finally, thanks to all of you who come and share, and most importantly, give the gift of your attention and connection to others. And if you haven’t yet joined us, you’re invited!
-Kory Wells, Founder
Congratulations Poetry in the Boro!!! I am proud to have been one of the three women who put our heads together to launch this venue three years ago. Proud to see it’s growing stronger each year.
Looking forward to the newsletter and hoping to find a way to attend more events. Poetry in the Boro is doing a great job of promoting the written word and art in general, Kory. Congratulations!