Not Every Open Mic is Created Equal
Mistakes were made. If there’s any way to summarize my experiences at Poetic Underground KC’s open mic, then it’s with these words. After all, when I think back about who was responsible for all of the issues I encountered over the couple of years attending this open mic, the issue becomes apparent that no one was responsible—and that was exactly what the issue was.
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I began my journey at this open mic a few months after the debut of my first Fringe show, Connect | Disconnect. At the behest of Audrey Crabtree, KC Fringe Festival director, she recommended that I get more involved with the spoken word community. Despite the massive number of issues I’d experience over those next two years at the Poetic Underground KC Open Mic, I don’t regret my time there and I don’t fault Audrey for the advice to get more involved in the spoken word community.
It was a strange time in my life, as I’d just gotten out of an intense almost relationship with someone who I actually liked a lot. I’d later write about our brief time together, or our time not together, in what I can only describe as the most difficult piece I’d ever write.
Upon further reflection, I now realize there was no way that it would have worked out with this person due her dark past involving her former husband’s suicide and her inability to fully move on from that.
It was a particularly difficult situation to navigate for me, as I had previously dated someone who had attempted to end her life—and on two occasions at that. Likewise, we found common ground in both of these similar and similarly tragic situations. It took me a long time to fully process my situation, although I had come to terms with it by this time.
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Towards the end of that month we spent with each other, this new person in my life asked me if I was mad at her. The truth is that I was never mad at her, and I still am not mad at her. However, I was frustrated with the situation and that frustration remains. I’m frustrated because I wish things could have been different. Also, if there’s one thing that I could tell her today, it would be, “It’s not your fault, but it’s your responsibility.”
I hope that one day she fully understands what that means, because in doing so, she will be able to finally fully move beyond her former husband’s suicide. However, if she never does, I think that the life that she’s currently living will be forever limited by that event, and in many ways that tragedy is worse than her husband’s suicide.
However, I know that she is stubborn, and that I also realize that you can’t force someone down a path you wished they were on. I hope she finds her way back in her own time though.
I still think about her every once in a while. I’d be lying if I told you that I didn’t miss her cute mini smile and her penchant for not being tickled. As far as the latter, I hope someone has by now decided to sneak in at least few tickles.
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It was in this context that I walked into that open mic at Blip Roasters in Kansas City’s West Bottoms warehouse district on that fall night. Before arriving, I checked the website and the Instagram as to the time limit, as well as any other rules on the open mic. There was nothing listed in either location, although after further research I found out that five minutes was standard at most open mics. Likewise, I decided to bring a few poems to read. I decided to read them beforehand and time them. They clocked in at just over five minutes. I figured that this would be fine, as no one would likely care if I was over by 20-30 seconds.
Soon after I arrived, the empty seats began to fill in. It seemed like a good crowd for a Wednesday night. It had been more than five years since I was at a similar event, which was a poetry slam. However, that night had been a rough one, as I’d been eliminated early. Also, it was on that night that the former national slam poetry champion had shown up—and he had also ended up losing that night. It was crazy to me that even the guy who had won the national slam poetry championship had lost.
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Eventually, I was called up to the mic on my first night at Poetic Underground KC at Blip Roasters. I was pretty nervous since it had been so long since I’d read something publicly, although the audience’s response was welcoming. I then sat down, but just as I did, one of the hosts then came up to the mic and gave a lecture on how the time limit was five minutes and that we needed to be respectful of everyone’s time.
She then continued on and on and on. After all, she needed to make it clear that I had gone over my five minutes and who the hell did I think that I was? She finally sat down, although she spent so much time shaming me for going over the five minute time limit that someone else could have read an entire set in the same time.
I felt terrible as I sat down in my seat that night. However, the speech had seemed a bit extreme since I’d never been there before and no one had stated that there was a five minute time limit. Further, there had been nothing on their website or Instagram page with regards to a five minute time limit. As I sat there, I thought about not coming back. I certainly didn’t feel welcome and perhaps open mics were not for me after all.
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I did eventually come back, although I seriously considered not doing so after the events of that open mic. On my second open mic, I decided to bring two pieces instead of three. I timed them again. Both together were just over four and half minutes.
The second open mic went a lot better than the first. I was a lot less nervous, and there was no lecture this time about me going over time, as I’d managed to stay under time.
I’d soon start making these bi-monthly open mics a part of my routine. For the first couple of months after the night I exceeded the time limit, everything ran smoothly. Then, one night someone else came in who had never been there before. I knew this was the case as they had prefaced their reading with a comment about how this was their first open mic at Poetic Underground KC. There was massive applause and then they read a few pieces. The person then sat down.
Following this, the same woman who’d berated me on my first night then got up and gave another speech about not going over the five minute time limit. As with me, the speech went on and on. It was even more shocking than my experience, as the person had just announced to everyone at the mic that they’d never been there before. As was the case at my first open mic, no one had stated that there was a five minute time limit at any time before this.
I later again checked the website and Instagram. As was the case the previous time, there was still no mention of a five minute time limit. It was ridiculous to make such a big deal of a five minute time limit to someone who couldn’t reasonably know that there was a five minute time limit.
I would watch the same pattern repeat itself multiple times over the course of that next year. It was difficult to watch each time as those nervous first-timers got up on the mic, received a massive round of applause from the audience, to then only be berated for going over the unknowable five minute time limit.
About a year in, the organization finally started announcing that there was a five minute time limit preceding the start of the open mic, as well as some additional rules. Why it took nearly a year to do so is beyond me, although it was the right thing to do. How long this had been going on before I’d started attending is also unclear.
Unfortunately, I thought about how many of these first time performers decided to never come back as a result of being berated for going over a five minute time limit that no one told them about. Moreover, how many of these same people decided never to come back to any open mic again? It’s impossible to know the extent of the damage and what exactly we lost, although if even a single one of these people decided to never come back to an open mic after that experience, then that’s a substantial loss for this community.
This behavior also becomes counter-productive to one of the main points of an open mic, which is to expand people’s voices. By publicly humiliating that person, you’re only encouraging that person to stay silent, and ultimately no person should be made to feel less-than for going over a time limit.
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There were a multitude of issues over that next year, including several talks I’d have privately with members of the organization on a few pieces I’d written. Each one of these pieces were on the theme of entitlement in some way, shape, or form. I stood by each piece and I still stand behind them, as each was written to push back against entitled behavior that in some cases turned abusive. These pieces also touch on the topics of sexual harassment in the workplace, the way partners can become completely self-absorbed to the point that their behavior becomes destructive to everyone around them, and the way in which we can normalize behaviors that are inappropriate.
One piece was a satirical piece that I had originally written in high school that was loosely based on a lot of entitled and narcissistic girls I went to school with. I had recently updated it and I read it during the theme night of Personas, which was a night that was specifically geared towards reading a piece as someone else, or in some cases, something else, such as an animal or any other entity that was not yourself. There’s a scene in this story where the girl who is the main character in this piece drags her friend out of her car for not liking Michelle Branch.
It’s a moment that is completely absurd, but that reinforces the extreme and ridiculous nature of the character. It’s not meant to be taken seriously, even though as everyone knows, Michelle Branch is of course the greatest artist of our generation.
There’s another scene in this piece where this same character talks about how great it is to flagrantly waste all of her parent’s money at the mall. I’d later have a conversation about this piece about how people found the piece to be misogynistic, which in retrospect is absurd, as this was meant to be a work of satire, which should have been evident by the ridiculous nature of the piece itself.
It’s not an anti-woman piece, but an anti-entitlement piece, and an anti-abusive behavior piece. You’re supposed to side against the main character due to her outrageous behavior. The character is intentionally blown out of proportion, which is the entire point to begin with. This caricature is about hammering home the absurdity of the behavior.
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There was another night at the open mic when a guy got up and said some things on the mic that were racist. What he said was absolutely wrong, although this person also appeared to be having a mental health crisis. It doesn’t make what he said O.K., although his words should have been taken in this context. I made a comment to a friend next to me about the way that this person seemed to be struggling with his mental-health and he agreed with me on this general assessment. This person was later kicked out of the open mic. I wasn’t there for all of the related events, although I felt from what I’d seen and from what I’d heard, that the situation could have been handled better.
On another night, a guy showed up with a dog. I’d like to note that this dog was not a service animal. This person was someone who had simply decided to show up with his dog at the open mic. I was puzzled as to what a dog who was not a service animal was doing at an open mic. It was bizarre to say the least.
On that night, the open mic began normally. Then, about halfway through someone’s poem, the dog barked at the person on the mic. The person then paused and looked towards the dog, as the dog’s barking had taken them out of the piece. You could tell they were both surprised and confused as to why a dog was barking at them at an open mic.
The poet continued, and then the open mic proceeded normally. Then, a few poets later, the dog again barked at someone else while they were reading a poem. This happened several times that night and none of the organizers said anything to this person. It seemed ridiculous, but I figured that this would be the last I’d see of this guy and his dog after his dog had been so disruptive at the open mic. After all, why bring your dog back after what had happened that night?
As it turns out, I was wrong. The same guy returned two more times with his dog. On the second time, the dog again interrupted several people and none of the organizers said anything to him.
The third time around, the same thing happened again. This time however, leadership made a joke on the mic about how funny it was that the dog was barking at people at the mic. One person even commented that it appeared that the dog wanted to participate in the open mic. I couldn’t believe how tone-deaf the comment was, especially in light of this being the third night now that this dog had interrupted multiple artists.
After the comments, the dog interrupted several more people that night. However, this was not to be the end of this dog’s bad behavior. Before the night was over, the dog ended up lunging at someone as they walked by. Still, no one said anything to the dog’s owner. Apparently, even your dog attacking someone was not enough of a reason to get kicked out of the open mic.
When I think back to those three nights, they’re still surreal. The actions, or inaction, of this organization show what’s important to them. By not telling this guy and his dog to leave after interrupting multiple people, you’re saying that a dog’s voice is more important than an artist’s voice. Ultimately, no dog’s voice is more important than any person’s voice, and I don’t care if your dog is Dog-casso.
It’s not easy for everyone to get up on the mic and share their feelings with a room full of strangers. Likewise, no one needs to also deal with a dog barking at them while doing so.
There were many serious pieces read over those two years, including several pieces about rape, suicide, and about several members of the trans community struggling with their family to accept their trans identity. No matter the topic though, every artist’s work should be taken seriously. In most instances, this was the case, although the situation with the man and his disruptive dog were instances where this was not the case. Your work as an artist is not a joke, as fundamentally, your art is who you are as a person. Likewise, your art and your artistry deserves to be respected.
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Blip Roasters had been home to Poetic Underground KC for many years, although the open mic has been hosted at a variety of different venues over the years. When I read the article that my former journalism teacher, and current KC Star reporter, Eric Adler wrote about Blip Roasters facing a $20,000/year property tax increase due to a re-assessment of the building, I suspected that the days of the open mic being hosted at Blip were numbered. This was due to the organization not paying for the space and the likely need for Blip to now make up that extra property tax money each year. As it turns out, I was right, and at the end of 2025, the organization’s Blip chapter ended.
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Around the same time as the planned move from Blip Roasters was announced, more issues began to emerge. The first major change was that everyone’s time at the open mic was reduced from five minutes to four minutes.
According to the organization, the change was made due to the growing popularity of the open mic. It was a surprise to me in light of so many serious issues that were going on. Also, five minutes always seemed like it should be the bare minimum, although now everyone was losing 20% of their time.
I wrote a few four minute pieces after the change, although it was a real challenge, especially as someone who is primarily a story teller. It felt like a real fuck you as a story teller.
I also felt bad for other story tellers as well as stand-up comedians who would also occasionally frequent the open mics. Ultimately, there was no way to transcend this limit, outside of just writing poems or very short stories, which severely would limit my range of expression.
The change also felt like the wrong move, as we need to be doing more to expand people’s range of expression instead of limiting it. It is more important now than ever to do this, as we are increasingly moving towards a winner-take-all society. We are seeing this in places such as the CEO pay ratio that is now nearly 300X the average worker, wages since 1980 have stopped following productivity increases, and the top 1% now controls more wealth than the bottom 50%. If anything, the time limit should have increased to six minutes to allow for a wider range of expression, instead of reducing it to four minutes.
There was another incident involving a conciliatory message I sent via Hinge to one of the hosts. In that message, I complimented her on a great performance that had taken place spotlighting love-themed pieces (the event was during February so as to coincide with Valentine's day that month).
I also commented that I was glad to see that she also had a softer side. I made the comment as this person typically read a lot of angry political pieces and this was a refreshing change of pace from these pieces. This performance showed that she was capable of a much wider range of expression than most would be lead to believe based on many of her previous performances.
I was later pulled aside to talk about these Hinge comments. During this conversation with organization staff, I reiterated similar comments to them and added that I was not suggesting that she should stop reading the angry political pieces, but that it was great to see that this person was more versatile than I, or most people, would likely believe.
When I think about this person, there’s no doubt in my mind that she is an authentic person, although I think that she struggles with vulnerability. Her love-themed performance was more powerful because it showed that she was growing as an artist and perhaps as a person as well.
As someone who has also struggled with vulnerability, I was particularly impressed that she was venturing into that territory. There were a couple of pieces that seemed particularly emotional and not easy for her to talk about, although myself and the audience were there for her on that night.
I should also add that the audience response to her love and relationship poetry was overwhelmingly positive and the level of applause that night was several orders of magnitude higher than what she would typically receive over my two years of listening to her work.
However, this was also a person who had clashed with me multiple times over the two years, including being the same person who used to give the time limit diatribes, both against me, as well as multiple other first-time attendees (as mentioned previously).
She was apparently pissed off that I sent the message via Hinge, which I sent the message there due to previous in-person clashes. I also didn’t think it would be an issue for a writer to be sent a written message. I also wanted to send the message there because she had listed a section of her profile specifically stating that she wanted to talk about her writing.
I was in shock that organization staff reprimanded me for leaving a positive comment about what her profile had asked. I also was trying to extend the olive branch to her due to my multiple negative in-person interactions with this person over those two years.
A couple of months later, this same person would turn away Sara Glass, the founder of Poetic Underground KC, due to the list being full at that night's open mic. It seemed outrageous to me that Sara was told she couldn’t read at the open mic that she had created.
I ended up writing an extended piece on this. I later read it at Afterword’s open mic, as well as posted it on my blog. The response was overwhelming that night, and it was clear that everyone in that room was behind Sara and the importance of recognizing Sara for her significant contributions to Kansas City’s open mic scene.
Also, Afterword’s open mic host, Christy Clemons, also provided a positive comment after I read the piece. The incident was particularly hard on me because Sara was a friend from high school and I’d also read another piece at Poetic Underground’s open mic mentioning that Sara was the founder of the open mic. Likewise, there was no reason that staff shouldn’t have known this fact.
I later read my piece about Sara at Sara’s new open mic at In the Lowest Ferns, which ironically is also in the West Bottoms, just a mile from Blip Roasters. It was an emotional night and I think Sara was moved. I also found out that apparently Sara wasn’t aware I’d even done the piece at Afterword, which only re-enforces why recognition is important.
However, the organization Sara founded did later bring Sara back near one of their last events at Blip Roasters, and for this I commend them for doing the right thing.
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Sara recently came to Afterword’s open mic, and I was glad she made it in. However, I found out that night that she is heading back to California again, so it was a bittersweet moment. I’m sure I’ll cross paths with Sara again at some point, but her legacy lives on—and I think the strongest evidence is at Afterword’s open mic.
To date, there’s never been a situation at Afterword’s open mic where a dog has interrupted anyone at the mic. I’ve also never seen a dog attack anyone here, although if one did, my assumption is that either Christy or someone that was part of Afterword's staff would tell that person that they, as well as their dog, needed to leave.
I’ve also read many pieces over the nearly two years this open mic has been active, and I have never had a conversation about them—at least one accusing me of being a misogynist, or asking me to defend anything I’ve said at the mic.
I have also read many of the same pieces here—and no one has had a problem with any of them. I’ve also given several people compliments about their work, and so far no one has complained about any of these compliments.
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I’d be remiss to say that there weren’t any good moments at Poetic Underground KC over those two years. The fact is that there were many, and I have written about many of these moments in separate pieces. Ultimately though, what’s important is that the good outweighs the bad.
When the bad outweighs the good, that’s when it’s time to move on—however difficult or however sad that may be. All open mics are not created equal, and that’s a lesson that you learn over time. It’s the people that make an open mic shine, and that includes both the organizers as well as those who are just audience members.
At the end of the last Afterword open mic, I told the person I was with that night that this group of people here was a special group of people—and that’s true. Where this open mic goes from here is unknown, but what I do know is that I’m glad to be a part of that journey.
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