Last week when Lara DeVries picked me up at the airport in Lima we had more than an hour to talk in the cab on our way to Hauycan. She asked me a lot of questions about what I do and I told her about my passion for poetry, music back in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I asked Lara if we could set up a poetry reading in one of her classrooms and the answer was a big Yes.
The word went out to everyone in the house, they told the people in their various classes and we got about fifteen people to show up. Some came with their poems all ready to go but most arrived really nervous with blank notebooks. We started with a thirty-minute workshop. I gave some simple guidelines for poetry and storytelling to the group and their pens and pencils started moving. It didn’t take long before everybody had something to share.
Some were very eager to get up and read. Some took a little encouragement and some took a lot of encouragement. There were one or two that wouldn’t read but that’s ok. The first time I went to a reading I was terrified and couldn’t imagine reading in front of anyone. But that’s proof of the intensity of it. Sharing your own words is one of the most powerful things you can do and there can be a lot of fear in the way. But friendly and encouraging faces act like drops of water on a stone that eventually split it open. After that, one’s own passion takes over and does the rest from the inside.
Most of those that showed up are part of LLI’s English classes but poems were read equally in Spanish and English. In a big show of support, many of the volunteers in the house also came to the reading and participated. Afterward, there was talk of making Beat Night a regular monthly event as part of LLI’s program because the response was so positive. The locals who participated kept asking if we were going to do it again. We didn’t get the musicians we wanted this time but the word has gone out for them to come. I am so grateful to Lara and the rest of my new friends at the LLI house for giving me this opportunity to share what I’m passionate about with Huaycan.
Ah, the sound of pens and pencils on paper is the sound of inspiration. And a few more folks filtered in during the workshop to fill some of those empty seats
David. pronounced Da-veed
Yeni
Luis
Aracelli. How’s that for a beautiful name. Our youngest reader of the night
Juan
Housemate Elle from Saint Louis
Sarah (left) and housemate Meg. Sarah had the best reading of the night. She read from memory, used her hands and her whole body to express her words. she was amazing. And Meg is one of Lara’s right-hand women and was my biggest champion and help for doing Beat Night.
Housemates Tijana (from Australia) and Meg sing “For Good” from the play Wicked. and they were WICKED good!
What an awesome night!
Cantar Perú 