Monday Night Open Mics: The Impact of Miami Poetry Club

Every other Monday, Books & Books on Aragon Ave opens its doors to poets and performers in South Florida. Works in hand, these artists are eager to connect with others in the Miami community through their carefully crafted words. Palms & Poetry is the Miami Poetry Club’s signature open mic event, welcoming all emerging or established writers to read their work in front of an audience. This is just one of the many events that Miami Poetry Club hosts to nurture the literary sphere in “The Magic City.”

Photography by @generallymichael

What resonates most with audiences is the different walks of life standing behind the studio lights and microphone stand. University teachers, parents, and healthcare workers all take time out of their busy schedules to share a deeper part of themselves with tables of fellow writers. The experiences shared between the pages of spiral notebooks and Word documents leave viewers with lasting impressions.

However, these events looked very different only a few years ago, before the Miami Poetry Club. The poetry club's founder, Sten Garcia, found himself lacking a good space to connect with other poets. He would attend open mic events in Miami, but noticed that they catered more towards musicians and stand-up comedians. “There didn’t seem to be a space for spoken-word poetry,” said Program Director Micah Marie Johnson.

After getting a group together, Sten and fellow poets would meet in several small spots to share their work. A long-time member reminisced with the audience at the last Palms & Poetry event about the club’s humble beginnings. “It seems like just yesterday we were meeting at Propaganda Miami—it was only a couple of us back then,” Jose chuckled into the microphone. Looking at the packed courtyard, it’s impressive to see how far they’ve come.

However, this is only the first step. Miami Poetry Club’s goal is to eventually propel Miami to be one of the main Literary hubs, akin to cities like New York and San Francisco. So far, they’ve built a thriving community of artists waiting to share their newest piece. They don’t just host open mics, but workshops and fundraisers too.

"It's a side of Miami you don't get to see often," noted volunteer Michael Aguilar. "People have soul here and real experiences." The impact of The Miami Poetry Club is only growing from here on out. One can only wonder the heights that this community will reach.