Open mic, open mind

1/26/10

"I do poetry, I eat poetry, I drink it, I snort poetry," local poet, Vernon C. Robinson, also known as VCR, told a group of fans in a Dorchester community center Tuesday, Jan. 26 at the Codman Square Tech Center. Audience members ranging in age from 5 to over 60 gathered to view volunteers who expressed their thoughts and their notebooks.

For nearly 10 years, VCR has hosted VerBaLizAtiOn Open Mic Night, Boston's longest-running open mic spot for poetry, spoken word, rhyme, song and discussion,he said.

Robinson said the Open Mic has been an outlet for all ages to practice self-expression in a close community where they might otherwise be restricted by the lack of performance venues. At VerBaLizAtiOn, Robinson said, he doesn't censor anybody.

"There are a lot of powerful youths out there. I don't hold anybody back," he said. "I'm just going straight edge. The performers might speak something that white people won't like, but it's the truth."

For Robinson, poetry is a way of life and one of the many ways he can express himself.

"Poetry is poetry," Robinson said. "People like to separate it into different categories, whether it's floetry, rap or you're doing theater. At the end, it's all self-expression."

Allyssa Jones, 38, the featured performer of the evening, has played in venues from Johnny D's, in Davis Square to Riverside Theatre Works. A teacher of voice and jazz at the Boston Arts Academy, Jones has also received honors in the Billboard International Songwriting Competition and a place among Boston Magazine's "40 Bostonians to Watch."Jones sang selections from her new album "35" which came out last month. All proceeds from this single will be sent directly to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund. Without a microphone, Jones kept a smile on her face and encouraged the room to clap along.

Music and performance are just a few of the ways through which Jones hopes to open a dialogue in the black community that encourages artistic expression and a sense of individuality.

"We need to begin conversations about what kinds of art our community can produce," she said.

Sharice Stripling, 23, of Roxbury, was a first-time participant of the open mic event. Stripling, known as Nuff Said, combines music with her spoken word to create her own version of Floetry which is influenced by Jill Scott and rapper Mos Def.

Stripling works at a hospital in Brighton, Mass., with Coretta Corbin, who writes fiction during her free time.

"I do it for fun," Corbin said. " I just want to share with people the things I feel passionate about."

In order to be heard, Robinson said, people need to be willing to move outside of their comfort zones. College students, in particular, he said, might learn from branching out.

"They [college students] want to stay in that realm, in the dorm or on campus," he said. "There is a lack of acknowledgment of people and poets who have been doing this for eons."

Ramona Alexander, or Ramona Lisa as she is known on stage, an actress in the upcoming play "Harriet Jacobs" at the Central Square Theater, contributed her poem, "Sun of the Morning" Tuesday night. She said during group discussion that open mics like VerBaLizAtiOn is a way to bridge the gap in the discussion of her heritage.

"These events are so few and far between sometimes," Alexander said. "We need to work on keeping the black arts movement here. It's waxing and waning, coming and going.