Open mikes have gone dark amid the pandemic, but creativity has taken to a virtual stage. For local poet Caroline Watson, who runs the monthly poetry open mike Grandma’s House at the Martin, sharing work from the poetry community feels essential to this moment.
Watson, who lives in Uptown, has traveled to the west, south, and north sides of the city to spotlight poets such as Billy Tuggle, who lives in Park Manor in Greater Grand Crossing. Also a teaching and performance artist, Tuggle shared his untitled poem for his daughter Carmendy on the fourth episode of the video series. Carmendy, whom her father calls “a performance kid” and who is on a competitive dance team, is in the video, sitting at the window listening to the poem.
“I felt proud of where I come from,” the poet says. “Roseland is beautiful if you take the time to actually see it.”
