Join us every Monday from 7:30 to 8:15 am at “Poetry in the Morning” to share original poetry, read pieces by others, practice on a mic, and get feedback in a supportive space.

* * *

If you’re working to improve your performance, check out our upcoming workshop with Regie Cabico:

High Wattage: Elements of Performing the Slam Poem with Regie Cabico

Two Day Workshop: Sunday, September 5th & Sunday, September 12th from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm

How do we make performance choices that heighten the poem’s life? How do we live the poem and not simply read the poem?

Join HBO Def Poetry Jam veteran and 3-time National Poetry Slam finalist Regie Cabico for “High Wattage: Elements of Performing the Slam Poem.”

A slam text is your show stopper, your three minute solo play. In this two-session class, we will explore the vocal & physical techniques for audiences to see the poem.

From the professional slammer to the virginal journal poet, we will stretch your interpretation of your over-performed texts, and we will prepare you to kick your verses in the squint of the spotlight in a nurturing environment.

Attention will be given to the page including language, imagery, and craft. Bring a poem, no more than a page long, comfortable shoes & clothes, your body, and a packet of your emotional colors.

This 2-part class will take place on Sunday, September 5th and Sunday, September 12th from 4 pm to 7pm. Pre-registration is encouraged.

Register Online Now to reserve your spot & save $10 off door price!

* * *

Here’s this week’s poem of the week! See you at the Workshop on Sunday, and on every Monday morning!

You bloom, we bloom.

* * *

Cloud

by Kay Ryan

A blue stain

Enjoy a full day of BloomBars events to honor Columbia Heights Day: Saturday, August 28th!

Join BloomBars on Columbia Heights Day for a full day (and night) of programming to celebrate our community and all that it has to offer!

We’ll be open all day, with belly dance, yoga, capoeira, salsa, tap dance, samba, Storytime, Open Mic, live music, and even Sunrise Cinema (Movies all night!). Basically, we’re fitting our entire week of programs into one day!

• Events start at 9:00 am and keep going till 6:30 am on Sunday! View the complete schedule below.
• All ages are welcome for every event.
• Suggested Donation: $10 per event.
• RSVP on Facebook
• More info on Gregg Hammond/Amber Dutton/Rob Reid

Columbia Heights Day Schedule:

9:00 – 10:00 am – Belly Dance
10:00 – 11:00 am – Yoga
11:00 – 12:00 pm – Capoeira
12:00 – 12:45 pm – Children’s StoryTime with Mahogany Books
1:00 – 5:00 pm – Columbia Heights Media Project will be interviewing residents for a hyperlocal documentary
2:00 – 4:00 pm – The Garden: Open Mic: Special afternoon session
4:00 – 5:00 pm – Cuban Salsa & Tap Dance Jam
5:30 – 6:30 pm – Brazilian Hour! Samba lesson and performance.

8:30 – 10:30 pm – Live performances by local guitar & folk musicians Ralph Wittenberg, Amber Dutton, and Greg Hammond to benefit Guitars not Guns

And it doesn’t stop there!

2:30 am – 6:30 am – Sunrise Cinema: Don’t drink & drive! Watch movies until sunrise. Let us know if you’d like to help. We’re looking for comedians and film curators.

View Details on Facebook!

Join us every Monday from 7:30 to 8:15 am at “Poetry in the Morning” to share original poetry, read pieces by others, practice on a mic, and get feedback in a supportive space.

Here’s this week’s poem of the week!

* * *
Expect Nothing
by Alice Walker

Expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.
become a stranger
To need of pity
Or, if compassion be freely
Given out
Take only enough
Stop short of urge to plead
Then purge away the need.

Wish for nothing larger
Than your own small heart
Or greater than a star;
Tame wild disappointment
With caress unmoved and cold
Make of it a parka
For your soul.

Discover the reason why
So tiny human midget
Exists at all
So scared unwise
But expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.

http://www.afropoets.net/alicewalker5.html

* * *
See you on Monday mornings! You bloom, we bloom.

It’s time again for StoryTime for BabyBloomers, in partnership with MahoganyBooks. This Saturday, StoryTime starts at 12 noon and we’ll also break out the crayons for some coloring time, for your kids to make their own stories (whether they are pictures or words!)

Turn of the computer or TV, grab your little one, and join us to encourage your child to read while taking a break from the usual Saturday afternoon routine.

Every last Saturday of the month, we will host a special story-time hour featuring some of your favorite childhood classics coupled with newly published works. Crafts may be provided, depending on the author and featured book.

This special monthly event will be hosted by MahoganyBooks and will feature local authors and readers from the community. Join us as we inspire and cultivate the love of literature in our little ones!

• Dates: Every Last Saturday of the Month
• Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
• Ages: 0-10
• Donation:$7

Every 4th Monday of the Month, starting July 26th

Join us every fourth Monday of the month for Poet-Tree in Bloom, our new monthly poetry writing group.

We will plant the seeds for new poetry by free-writing using writing prompts, sharing our work, and getting some practice reading aloud.

BloomBars is a safe and encouraging space so don’t be shy, give it a try!

Please bring paper and pen!

• Date: Monday, July 26th then every fourth Monday of the month.
• Time: 6:30 – 7:30 pm
• Facilitator: Gowri K. of Poetry in the Morning
• Cost: $10 Suggested Donation
• View the BloomBars Calendar to see the next session!

“…Already the first branch-tips brush at the window.
Softly, calmly, immensity taps at your life.”
(from “Tree” by Jane Hirshfield)

This past week, our BloomBars interns went out on the street to survey the people of Columbia Heights.

“What art programs would you like to see in Columbia Heights?”

While most people usually avoid street canvassers, when citizens heard our one question survey,  many turned around and answered our question.

At left, you can view the results from a poll of 50 Columbia Heights residents selected randomly outside of the Columbi Heights Metro station. Respondents were asked, “What kinds of art or art programs would you like to see more of in Columbia Heights?”

Most of the people we asked seemed concerned with the lack of artistic outlets in the city especially concerning children.

While most people we questioned had more than one suggestion, the majority of people asked wanted more theatre; anything from comedy to drama.

Interviewees wanted more activities that included the family and allowed them to express their creativity together.

This survey was helpful because it allowed us to understand what our community wants and needs to interact in a more positive way.  It was also a reminder of all the amazing things that BloomBars does on a weekly basis.

From our concerts and dance lessons to our art galleries and writing and acting workshops we do our best to give the community what it wants and more importantly what it needs. 

We hope you stick with us while we expand even further to meet more of Columbia Height’s needs.

Poetry in the Morning…poem of the week. Join us every Monday from 7:30 to 8:15 am to share original poetry, read pieces by others, practice on a mic, and get feedback in a supportive space. **

* * *** *Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein *

There is a place where the sidewalk ends

And before the street begins, And there the grass grows soft and white, And there the sun burns crimson bright, And there the moon-bird rests from his flight To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black

And the dark street winds and bends. Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow, And watch where the chalk-white arrows go To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we’ll walk with a walk that is measured and slow, And we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go, For the children, they mark, and the children, they know The place where the sidewalk ends.

*** Come let your words and your Monday mornings bloom!

Join us every Monday from 7:30 to 8:15 am at “Poetry in the Morning” to share original poetry, read pieces by others, practice on a mic, and get feedback in a supportive space.

Here’s this week’s poem of the week. Hope it inspires you!

***

I’m Here

by Anis Mojgani

my bones do not know what the weather is
my bones do not know what time it is
my bones do not wear a watch
the flowers do not wear a watch
the flowers do not wear anything at all
they are naked
sexy flowers
what you doing standing up naked all day long for all the world to see?
have you no shame?
no
you do not
of course the flowers have no shame
the flowers do not even know what time it is
they only know to hold the soil with their roots
to bend towards the water
to bend towards the sun

***

Read more poetry at Anis Mojgani’s blog. 

See you on Mondays. Come let your words and your Monday mornings bloom!

Turn of the computer or TV, grab your little one, and join us for Story Time for BabyBloomers with Mahogany Books! What better way to encourage your child to read!

Every last Saturday of the month, we will host a special story-time hour featuring some of your favorite childhood classics coupled with newly published works. Crafts may be provided, depending on the author and featured book.

This special monthly event will be hosted by MahoganyBooks and will feature local authors and readers from the community. Join us as we inspire and cultivate the love of literature in our little ones!

Dates: Every Last Saturday of the Month, starting on June 26th.
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Ages: 0-10
Donation:$7

Poetry in the Morning…poem of the week. Join us every Monday from 7:30 to 8:15 am. **

* * *** A Message from the Wanderer

by William E. Stafford Today outside your prison I stand and rattle my walking stick: Prisoners, listen; you have relatives outside. And there are thousands of ways to escape.

Years ago I bent my skill to keep my cell locked, had chains smuggled to me in pies, and shouted my plans to jailers; but always new plans occured to me, or the new heavy locks bent hinges off, or some stupid jailer would forget and leave the keys.

Inside, I dreamed of constellations— those feeding creatures outlined by stars, their skeletons a darkness between jewels, heroes that exist only where they are not.

Thus freedom always came nibbling my thought, just as—often, in light, on the open hills— you can pass an antelope and not know and look back, and then—even before you see— there is something wrong about the grass. And then you see.

That’s the way everything in the world is waiting.

Now—these few more words, and then I’m gone: Tell everyone just to remember their names, and remind others, later, when we find each other. Tell the little ones to cry and then go to sleep, curled up where they can. And if any of us get lost, if any of us cannot come all the way— remember: there will come a time when all we have said and all we have hoped will be all right.

There will be that form in the grass.

*** See you on Mondays. Come let your words and your Monday mornings bloom!