The Perseverance of the Pensacola Poetry Scene
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HEN TRACING THROUGH the history of the Pensacola poetry scene, the first word out of most local poets’ mouth is Sluggo’s. Sluggo’s was open for nearly 30 years across eight different locations, and it was partly a punk music venue, part vegan bar and restaurant and part performance art space. When the business shut its doors for the last time in 2016, it left a void in the art and music community, but it especially left the local poets without a gathering space. Today, the poetry scene in Pensacola has persevered and thrives throughout the
by Dakota Parks
city in several locations. To celebrate the National Poetry Month of April, we’ve taken a moment to talk to local poets and map out the open mics across the city. Charles McCaskill is a local poet, author of two poetry books and a staple leader of Pensacola Poetry. When Sluggo’s shut down, McCaskill took the initiative of finding a new space for the wayward poets to gather. Constant Coffee has been the home of the Pensacola Poetry open mics for the last three years—every Tuesday, rain or shine. “My favorite part is how con-
tagious the energy to create is. We've had people come, who say they aren't artists the first time, but then by the third time, they've written a poem based on something they heard at our event. Or someone struggling to put their grief or anger into words, becomes inspired to find those words in our space,” said McCaskill.
LOCAL POETRY NIGHTS
The poetry nights at Constant Coffee have a revolving door of visitors from open mic newbies, first-time readers, regular attendees and poetry scene veterans—those who have been around from the very beginning. Even the regulars agree that Constant is one of the most forgiving venues, and the best spot in town to try out new poems or get on the mic for the first time.
Night Moves Sunday nights from 6-8 p.m.
“Our open mic style is very casual and laid back,” said McCaskill. “We are a diverse collection of people. I was born and raised here—all 31 years of my life, and I've never seen an artistic space so diverse in this city. Across age, across ethnicity, across belief. People who have shared at our events represent the wide variety of lives in Pensacola— in a way that you will be hard pressed to find anywhere else here.” While the Constant Coffee poetry nights remain a constant and a much-needed backbone to the poetry community, the poetry nights at Dolce & Gelato are shaking up the typical open mic experience.
Constant Coffee every Tuesday from 6-8pm. (Follow Pensacola Poetry for updates) Dolce & Gelato one a month; usually on the third Thursday from 7-10 p.m.
Open Books fundraising open mics (Follow on social media for dates) Music Open Mics also friendly to poets Waterboyz Thursdays from 7-11 (Will resume in the summer) Goat lips Chew & Brewhouse Monday, Thursday and Sunday starting around 7 Asia Samson is a full-time poet, performer, slam poetry coach and regular host of the Dolce & Gelato poetry nights. Samson has been writing poetry since his childhood and started touring the country in 2006 performing poetry in the college circuits. He moved to Pensacola in 2012 from his hometown in Miami and quickly fell into rhythm with the local poetry scene. “Compared to Miami, Pensacola is quieter, the city is smaller, and the people still have a love for poetry—I just had to
find them,” said Samson. “The poetry community here is so pure and supportive compared to bigger cities where it’s competitive and cliquish.” Samson curates a lineup of local and visiting poets for the monthly poetry nights at Dolce & Gelato. While they still keep to the traditional roots and keep the microphone open for pop-up poetry, as Samson explained, curating a poetry set allows them to showcase poets and host themed nights like LGBT+ and teen night. “Across our society, we’re constantly on our phones, we’re constantly on social media and we’re constantly distracted. Poetry breaks that,” said Samson. “You’re forced to come into a venue, put your phones down and listen to somebody talk. It’s important to have that community space where we can sit down and share opinions, thoughts, feelings—even if we have differing opinions, we can educate one another and learn from each other. At one point, none of us liked poetry. If people just came to these poetry slams and local poetry nights, they might fall in love with it too.” Pensacola is home to a wide variety of poetry rich venues— all of which are free, welcoming and showcase the wide variety of people across our city. Poetry is often stigmatized as a confusing and flippant hobby, but the local poets in Pensacola pour their hearts out weekly and tackle a wide variety of issues that almost any attendee can relate to. DOWNTOWNCROWD.COM | 15
