On June 29th, a group of people gathered in the lower seating area of St. John’s own Battery Café, many artists, musicians, and writers. Others included supportive family members and poem enthusiasts. With two established poets on the evening’s lineup plus the additional five spots on the open mic, the room was brimming with enthusiasm and nervousness. Meanwhile, two people were bustling around the room with chairs, chatting in low voices as they helped organize the space. They were the reason the whole event happened in the first place.
I interviewed the two organizers of Battery Café’s first poetry series, Greta Warner and Elias Langer. They gave me the scoop on the process of organizing the event and what gave them the idea of planning it.
With Greta being a talented local musician and Elias being a fantastic poet, the natural progression of their conversation about their artistic fields led to the cozy event last month. St. John’s has a thriving music scene. This event drew on that inspiration and introduced the idea of an open-mic style poetry night. The pair is building this series of poetry nights from the ground up, hoping there will be future events. They both know the owner of the Battery Café and spoke of his desire to have the business be a thriving coffee spot and a “quintessential location for local young emerging artists to present their work,” as Elias said.
Greta explained the motivation behind the event from her perspective as a musician: “When you’re just starting out it’s very easy to believe that the scene is what it is, and that you have no power to contribute to it because you’re new.” As younger artists growing up or trying to create in a very artistically rich province, it can be difficult to make your voice heard or have the courage to try. But as she explained further, “…as the next generation of artists, we have a new perspective on things. We have a lot of valuable new ideas both creatively and in terms of the scene, and we should not be afraid to share them (or face our fears and do it anyway). Nobody is ever done learning, and we can all learn from each other.”
With this perspective in mind, Greta explained their reasoning for the event as wanting to create a “warm and inviting space for new poets,” a space that was not frightening and entirely open for newness as it was to skill. They also wanted to enjoy the form of poetry and its art and craft.
Elias explained that Greta did most of the organizational work; from setting up the Eventbrite for the tickets to designing and printing the poster, she was the brains behind the operation. Meanwhile, Elias set his mind to the creative force. When one of the main poets, Craig Francis Power, couldn’t make it to the event, Elias’ father, James Langer, filled in with some amazing poems with his son’s encouragement. Elias was also the charming host of the evening. However, he explained that since it was his first time hosting anything, he forgot 40% of what he would say and got nervous. I know that no one in the audience minded, though; if anything, it helped break the ice.
The event was a massive success! Tickets sold out, and many poets read after the night’s main event during the open mic (including myself!) I would say that they completely succeeded when thinking of the lovely organizers’ motivation and wishes for the event. Poets both new to the scene and familiar with it read their work in a warm and appreciative environment, allowing them to feel safe in the arms of art in the heart of St. John’s. In the name of Newfoundland’s art and the people who make it, it was a massive win, and I certainly hope to see more events like it in the future.