Poet, jewelry crafter, fire breather featured at Wed. Night Poetry
Hot Springs poet, jewelry crafter and fire breather Emeryn Phillips will be featured at Wednesday Night Poetry at Kollective Coffee + Tea, 110 Central Ave.
The regular open mic session for poets, musicians and storytellers will begin at 6:30 p.m. today. Phillips will begin their feature set at 7:30 p.m., followed by another round of open mic. Admission is free and open to all ages. Masks are recommended. All are welcome.
Born in rural northern Arkansas, Phillips has always called the Natural State home.
“The earliest I remember writing poetry for myself was eighth grade. I always enjoyed writing essays and some stories, but poetry was awesome! I could define the rules, the flow, and the words always came from me. William Ernest Henley’s ‘Invictus’ was the first poem I ever memorized and I still carry it with me today. It was a big inspiration. Over the next few years, I wrote less. But poetry has always stuck around in some form or fashion. My inspiration changed from wanting to find myself to exploring what it means to be myself. Nowadays, I write what younger me would be proud of,” Phillips said in a news release.
Phillips was brought to their first Wednesday Night Poetry by a friend in June 2022.
“I knew right then that I would be back, and so I was, seven weeks in a row, and more since. Since then I’ve integrated into the community here and it means so much. To me, WNP is a place to experience perspective — how people see the world, how they interact with it, and how they feel about it. That is very important to me as I realize the world is so big! I can’t experience it all, but I can hear bits and pieces,” Phillips said.
“Emeryn has been such a beautiful addition to our Wednesday Night Poetry family. They are witty, sensitive, kind, observant, and such a talented writer. I remember the first time I saw Emeryn — I felt that instant knowing that they were going to become a fixture at WNP, that they had found home. They opened up for international famous musician and activist Ryan Cassata last Monday, for a special event benefiting the ACLU. Emeryn even had the courage to go first! I know that their poems and presence will bring laughter and warmth to the audience as they do each week. We are lucky, tonight, to be able to hear a feature-length presentation! Hope you. will join us,” WNP host and Hot Springs Poet Laureate Kai Coggin said in the release.
This week marks 1,781 consecutive Wednesdays of open mic poetry in downtown Hot Springs since Feb. 1, 1989. “WNP is the longest-running consecutive weekly open mic series in the country,” the release said. “Wednesday Night Poetry is a safe space.” For more information, email wednesdaynightpoetry@gmail.com.