Abiba Biao Photos.
Inside Strange Ways, the energy was starting to rise. After hearing a few poems from the audience, the writer Sun Queen stood, taking in the sea of faces before her. Attendees, she explained, were going to bless the room—and each other—with some affirmations.
“So if you don’t take nothing else home tonight, you [can] take that liberation—” she waited a beat. The night outside was cool and velvety blue.
“Is a lifestyle,” a member of the audience shouted back. Within moments, Sun Queen had adopted the chant.
“That liberation—” she ventured again.
“Is a lifestyle!” the crowd roared back.
Poetry, patches and storytelling filled Strange Ways on a recent Saturday night, as an open mic and patch party took over the beloved Orange Street storefront in time for the end of National Poetry Month. Hosted by writer, poet, and Black Lives Matter New Haven co-founder Sun Queen, the event centered glorious, loving community, giving storytelling a safe space to soar.
“Even though there is so much going on [in the world, I hope] that one, [you] meet someone new and then also laugh, [feel] some joy,” Sun Queen said. “Feeling whatever it is that you need, I hope you’re able to find it in this space, and with these beautiful people that surround you.”
For the poet, who is also an active and vocal member of U-Act and the Elm City Compass Community Advisory Board, open mic nights are part of her work bringing the community together. For years, she has hosted them around the city, gracing spots from the New Haven Pride Center to the Hill Museum of Arts.
While she has also blessed stages with her own work—including with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra—she made ample space Saturday for those around her, emanating a warmth and support that spread through the storefront as people read.
Watkins: "I think I picked the perfect spot."
That was clear as performers like Vanessa Watkins, the second poet of the night, took the mic. Born and raised in Elm City, Watkins wove her own background into her freestyle poem “She,” captivating the audience with her life journey for six minutes. She created the poem spontaneously in the moment, bringing together many of her life experiences in the same city that gave her life.
“I was extremely nervous, I could feel my energy shaking,” she said, reflecting on her performance afterward (watch an excerpt in the video below). “But I was more excited that I was coming out and doing something intentional that I wanted to do and meeting [people] ... I think I picked the perfect spot. It seems safe, there’s a warm vibe, very positive.”
Watkins emphasized the growing importance of community and connection in her life, particularly as she works to become less reliant on her car and extend her reach to more places in the city. While she has been observing spoken word for years—her kids started performing poetry when they were relatively young, and have gone on to be entrepreneurs—she had not tried it out for herself until Saturday.
When she performed, she recorded a video for her children, who were immediately supportive.
“I was so excited because I was like: ‘Guys guess what? I signed up for an open mic,’ and they were like ‘Congratulations!’” she said.
Shah: Self-love for the win.
Like Watkins, artist Shajal Shah couldn’t escape the nerves they had before approaching the mic, but recited their work anyways, performing two pieces about self love. In the audience, 11 of their close friends listened closely, with more who filtered in by the end of the night. Long after Shah had finished, they showered the artist with compliments and hugs.
“[I] tried to memorize my piece. Definitely did, but got really nervous,” Shah said afterward. “But I think it's supposed to be a little uncomfortable. I think you're supposed to sit with the experiences you had, because that's how you know that you're feeling it.”
For Shah, writing serves as an outlet to process their feelings. While writing their poems “A Commentary on Love,” and “What Would it Be Like if I Completely Loved Myself? What does it Feel Like, Look Like, Taste Like, Sound Like?,” they described the difference between practicing for themselves and letting people witness their feelings.
They also nodded to their friend group, which includes spoken word artists, as supporting their writing endeavors. Being surrounded by others that do spoken word made them feel bolder and more determined to try it, Shah explained.
“I've performed this piece 1000s of times now, like in my room, like at home, like just doing it over and over again, but doing it here in front of people that are just seeing all my vulnerability right in front of me is like a very different experience,” they said. “I was tripping over my words, I was getting emotional like it was a feeling I've never experienced before. I'm glad I got to experience it here, because it makes me hungry to have it again.”
Shah advised people to lean into their support systems and extend tolerance to themselves as they follow their creative pursuits.
“I think that we are our worst critic[s]," Shah said. "I know that I am. I know that it's hard to put yourself out there, especially to be vulnerable … but we don't know what tomorrow's gonna bring. We don't know what the day after that's gonna bring. So like, be here, be present, and the only way to do that is to take those leaps and to push yourself, even if it's uncomfortable.”
Watch more from the Open Mic in the video above.