Every first Monday of the month, Tinfish Press hosts a poetry reading at Na Mea/Native Books in Ward Center featuring local writers with a new theme each month. This month’s reading featured Maiana Minahal, Amalia Bueno, and Kamden Hillard with the theme of “Chapbooks”. Each poet reads for about fifteen minutes and afterwards, the audience is free to ask questions or offer comments. The reading is held in the small cafe area at the back of the bookstore and drinks (coffee and tea) are usually provided. This month had a good turnout of people, around 15 people came compared to the usual 8 to 10 people. Most of the audience were Maiana’s students and Amalia’s family, but it made for a more engaging reading.

Out of the three readers, I felt that Kamden’s reading was particularly engaging. Most of the poems he read dealt with his struggles of reconciling his hometowns of New York (where he was born) and Hawaii (where he was raised). Being also born in New York and raised in Hawaii, it was easier for me to relate to his poems on a more personal level. Most of his works include popular culture references, which also makes it easy to become engaged as well. At the end of the reading, guests were able to take pictures with the readers as well as purchase their chapbooks, ending the evening with a small book signing. The overall feel of the reading was very casual and had a different vibe compared to other poetry readings I’ve attended, which most likely had something to do with the intimacy of the venue. The cafe area in Na Mea isn’t very large and can accommodate only about 20 to 25 people; while this might be a turn-off for most people, I felt the smaller space encouraged me to really listen to what the poet was reading and made me want to ask more questions to better understand the issues the poets were addressing. Many slam poetry readings offer a sense of community and I felt that the readings hosted by Na Mea and Tinfish foster that feeling of community and a shared identity between poet and the audience.

Overall, I really enjoyed the poetry reading as well as meeting the readers and I hope next month’s reading will be just as enjoyable!