Review: DFW Open Mics Poetry Night at Mochalux Coffee in Arlington

by Michael Miranda

There were almost half as many singer-songwriters on acoustic guitar as there were poets.

Every Saturday night Paul Sexton and DFW Open Mics stages a poetry open mic at the Mochalux Coffee and Tea Company from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. I spoke with Paul and he said they have been at this particular venue for a year and a half now. The coffee house has the usual Starbucks type of fare at about the same prices, though I was surprised that when I asked for just a plain cup of joe there was none made and so he had to make some Americana.

But I did not go there for the coffee, which was pretty good by the way. I went there for the poetry and prose but got pleasantly surprised. There were almost half as many singer-songwriters on acoustic guitar as there were poets. There were even a couple of original hip-hop type rappers with the music set up on their laptops that they would plug into the PA system. All in all there was about 20 entertainers which was also about half the audience.

The poetry ranged from depressing to boring-mundane to spectacular. One cute short haired girl named Shanna read a short poem and then read an original Dark Fairytale that was excellent and very entertaining. Later I spoke with her and she told me that the dark fairy tales is her specialty. "Dark not to be confused with Disney" as she put it.

The big surprise was the music. A few very entertaining singer-songwriters with their guitar. The finale was a girl that goes by the name of Emiline. She plays a portable Yamaha piano and has a very pretty but kinda haunting voice that moves the emotions. Paul told me he does other open mics but has scaled back a little lately in preparation for the release of his new book, what he calls a postmodern poetry novel titled Her Soul Bled Out. "The book release party is scheduled for this April at Mochalux," Paul said. I will get back to y'all with more details and of course report on the event itself.

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