“Part of the reason for the masks is some of us have written poems we might be embarrassed to perform,” explained organizer Blaine Greenwood, adding because the Most Vocal Poets are pretty close knit , everybody knows the readers anyway. Besides masks are fun, especially when there will be about 40 of them from all over the world from Italy to Africa to try out.
“This is the poetry of the people in real life who might not ordinarily perform it at an ordinary open mic,” Greenwood continued.
“Some poems read easily while other poems deal with the darker side of life,” he continued adding there is one about artist Vincent Van Gogh’s battle with schizophrenia. But it’s not all serious.
“There will be a carnival mood. It’s a case of trying something not in the box,” he said emphasizing everybody is welcome to read their poems, as per the philosophy of the Most Vocal Poets, “ off the page, on the stage.”
The Most Vocal poets officially became a society in 2004.
“Before that we were a loose band of bards,” Greenwood said.
“We aren’t a writers group, we don’t criticize other people’s work. If you take the time to write something, then take the time to recite it in front of people,” he said.
“The moment you read in front of people, there will be other people in the audience who have felt the same thing,” he continued.
The Most Vocal Poets meet every Wednesday to recite poetry.
“We think it’s nice forum for poets to express themselves,” he said .
“Part of the by-product of the presentation of the work is the interaction with the audience. If you have 20 people in the audience listening to one piece of poetry, there will be 20 different interpretations of the poem. So that helps us as writers too,” he continued.
Masques and Mayhem runs from 7:30-10 p.m. in the GCBC Lounge.
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
