Poets Underground Goes Above and Beyond
On Tuesday nights, nestled beneath an East Village pub, there are true creative juices flowing. Amplified Ale Works at Island Avenue and 14th Street is known for its beer and brick-oven pizzas. What you won’t find on the menu is the extra serving of original poetry, articulate sounds in a piece of spoken word, or maybe some pages read aloud from a still-to-be-published novel. Once a week, Poets Underground is housed down a long flight of steps that lead to a modest performance space known as the Amplified Acid Vault. It’s a safe space to be who you are and express yourself. “We are all about creating an inclusive community, where creatives of all levels can come be connected and supported,” says Sunny Rey, a published poet herself and the founder of Poets Underground. The setting is casual, and the cost is free to experience an evening of headliners and those ambitious writers who sign up for the open mic opportunity to be seen and heard.
Sunny Rey hosts the only local open mic night with no limit or set style of expression. All are welcome.
On the Tuesday just after Valentine’s Day, love was still in the air at the Acid Vault. Love from a bleeding-heart romantic and the tough love that often leads to a broken one. The headliners were Jacquelyn Phillips who helped Rey co-create the event and negotiated logistics and permissions for the partnership with Amplified East Village. She read from her manuscript that included some pointed accounts of a cheating boyfriend and the consequences. The audience sometimes winced at the nitty gritty truth and applauded and supported the author with audible praises because they related to her words so well. There is no competition and prize to win. Rey points out, “we are not limited to a set style of expression which sets us apart from other writing events and groups in San Diego. All voices and styles have a home with us here.”
The juxtapose headliner on this night was new poet and lesbian writer Stephanie Roche who was also celebrating her 21st birthday. Roche is a native San Diegan who used her words vividly describing a true love girlfriend. Because of the intimate space, the audience is just a few feet away from each performer allowing a more impactful performance. Roche creatively writes and does spoken word with work that expresses acceptance, motivation, and her life experiences with mental health issues
Any taboo is treated with truth at the microphone. That includes issues of sexual assault and harassment. The open mic opportunity that follows the headliners could include many more voices considering the recent #MeToo movement conviction of Harvey Weinstein. Rey is a survivor of homelessness and assault. She is clear on her mission.
“Poets Underground offers a space of retreat, rest, venting and safe support. Our guests refer to our Tuesday night events as “church” or ‘therapy group’. Whatever we are to each person I can promise safe expression and genuine care.”
An extension of Poets Underground includes a homeless outreach team called Poets for the People. Volunteers meet monthly to collect hygiene supplies, water and socks for people living outside on the streets of downtown. The bag of supplies always includes a poem, too. The “underground” movement is partnered with San Diego Writers, Ink, a nonprofit writer’s organization. Together, they provide monthly writing workshops known as “Poets in a Pub”. A $40 fee includes a beer and writing supplies along with mentorship for aspiring creatives ages 21 and up. The Poets Underground’s most ambitious plans include a publishing company, a hub for new writers, a yearly anthology memorializing the work of Acid Vault headliners, and a scholarship program for at-risk youth/young adults.
Doors open each Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. for open mic sign up. Headliner performances begin at 7 p.m. Underground Poets at the Acid Vault located downstairs at Amplified East Village, 1429 Island Avenue, 92101.
Featured poem about Poets Underground:
through the pouring of words
finding worlds so similar to ours.
we were left alone to fight against
Since discovering the only church
I’ve felt crazy enough to belong to.
I’ve witnessed wounds and traumas
and well articulated worlds
beyond my wildest imagination
of diving naked into currents
without a care in the world
in the same ways as mine.
the meaning of their lives.
I’ve survived my hardest days
I go so far to say Loved.
We are all beautifully broken
pieces of a shattered mirror
to hold a clear reflection
