06/12/2019
Hello, friends. Thank you so much for coming out tonight. I know Dallas has had one heck of a week.
I (Nadia, hi, hello) would like to take a moment to be thankful. For a lovely venue. For Cristina and Fatima for staying open late and putting up with us. To our regulars and new-comers. For our rotating cast of musicians. For people who come as audience (!). The point of Vellum Ouroborus is that poetry does not exist in a vacuum.
I would also like to take a moment to state that our rules are not up for debate. Of course, I have lots to learn about being a person and doing things with excellence and welcome feedback from a place of compassion--compassion for our community, not your host.
Here are the rules again:
We invite you to read 3 of your own poems and one by someone else, or some combination thereof. We don't have a timer, but we ask you take approximately 5 minutes. Just be aware of the audience and other people on the list.
"Safe Place" means something different to different people. But we will make damn sure it is welcoming to all. Obviously, that means no sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or racism.
But it also means giving a trigger warning. Giving a trigger warning is not an apology; it is giving someone an opportunity to show self-love and self-care. (I forget to do this too some times, but as long as you're trying and are aware.)
Creating a welcoming space also means when we read poetry by another poet we do not play pretend and act like their heritage, their trauma is a costume we can put on and off again.
If you're unsure how to read a poem by another person, just read it in your own voice because that is how you experience someone else's poem: as yourself.
