241 and One For All: How Poetry Brought an Ottawa Community Together
By Amanda Monterroso
Artisanal coffees, craft beers, and hard seltzers litter the tables and patrons' hands. It’s a small space, but it’s cozy and warm. The cafe is more packed than usual, and there’s a buzz of excitement in the air. Masked and unmasked faces fill up every seat, nook, and cranny. The hosts take the stage and give the audience a warm welcome before introducing the first performer of the night: a young man with a stuttering voice who struggles to adjust the microphone. He recites a poem written by a loved one, then a poem written by him. When he finishes, the audience bursts into encouraging applause as he leaves the stage, a smile lingering on his face. The hosts announce the next poet, and the night begins.
On the last Thursday of every month, a crowd gathers at The Happy Goat Coffee Co. on 35 Laurel Street in Ottawa. 241 Poetry Open Mic is a monthly open mic poetry reading event where poets of all stature are invited to perform one poem they love, followed by one poem written by them. The idea began in the Spring of 2022 when writers Jeff Blackman and Bardia Sinaee felt “an inkling to do something,” as Blackman puts it. The two met in a writer’s circle at Carleton University that Blackman hosted, and they have worked together on many projects since. “I’ve been writing a zine for the last three years: a pandemic “quaranzine” called These Days. Bardia’s been helping me with that. But we wanted to come up with an event. One of the big things we wanted was an excuse to meet people in person,” Blackman said.
In a strange new era where in-person events had virtually ceased to exist, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent isolation periods introduced increased reports of mental health struggles. Findings from the Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health (SCMH) revealed that 25% of Canadians aged 18 and up screened positive for symptoms of depression, anxiety or posttraumatic stress disorder in Spring 2021, up from 21% in Fall 2020. A year later, vaccines were being administered, lockdowns were ending, and mask mandates were no longer being implemented. It was the crack of dawn after a dark night. But it didn’t come without consequences. Social distancing measures, isolation periods, and the sudden halt of all social gatherings were crucial steps in stopping the spread of COVID-19. But results from the 2021 Canadian Social Connection Survey (CSCS) indicated that Canadians felt alone and that between 6% and 12% were experiencing long-term chronic loneliness. These increased feelings of isolation and depression were felt across Canada— Ottawa included.
After recurring years of isolation, video calls and online platforms were simply no longer enough. So when things began to go back to “normal,” it called for something more. “In-person events were beginning to pick up in the Spring… there was this desire to have an excuse to bring people together,” Blackman stated. What better way to do so than through poetry? Creative expression has a magical way of bringing a community together. What Blackman appreciates about the art form is its relative ease and accessibility. “The open mic reminded me that there are way more people making poetry and art than in the libraries or books. Tons of people are doing this as a way to express themselves. It’s important to encourage that,” he said.
Poetry open mics create a sense of belonging, which explains the larger-than-usual crowd on the evening of September 29th, 2022. 241 Poetry Open Mic had 30 poets on stage and eventually had to cut it off by the end. The colourful posters Blackman had spread all over town, plus reaching out to Carleton University, Ottawa University, and Algonquin College writing students, worked: it was their biggest event yet. Zack Nadeau, an account executive for 95.7 ELMNT FM, recalls the night. The suspense and tension built while he waited inside the cafe. It was Nadeau’s first-ever poetry event, and he was excited. He vividly recalls a poem performed by Sophia Rowe titled “My Life as a Veterinarian Technician” because of how much it resonated with him. It started out funny and wasn’t quite the traditional poem he had imagined. But it was captivating; he could feel the story flowing through her. The laughter filled the room as much as the silence did. He thought it was brave of the poets to talk so candidly about their lives. Rowe’s story progressed further into personal territory, and the performance was emotional for Nadeau because he had lost a pet during the pandemic. “Poetry is such a good outlet for people because it can be about anything. To be able to tell such personal things to strangers takes a lot,” he reminisced.
The importance of human connection is prevalent at 241 Poetry Open Mics. Strangers, acquaintances, and friends have the opportunity to gather under one roof to share their stories and be met with nothing but support. Even after the worst of COVID-19, residents of Ottawa and beyond managed to find a space to hear and be heard. With the long days of isolation now in the past, community events like 241 offer a future full of solidarity and understanding— a space for poets to finally come together again as Blackman and Sinaee intended.
“If there’s any kind of clubs or societies, just people who want to do things, get in with them. What made my life what it is was finding other writers. Look for those like-minded people. Those are the kinds of friendships that carried me through the last 20 years of my life. Look for people who love what you love,” he said.
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