by Portia Choi | Aug 15, 2017 | Events, Interviews, Kern County Poet, Pictures, Uncategorized
First Friday Open Mic – August 4, 2017 Story by Shanna O’Brien Photos by: Christina Noel It was so much fun covering the hostess position for Portia at the August 4, 2017 Kern Poetry open mic night held at Dagny’s Coffee Shop. The room was full to capacity...
by Portia Choi | Jul 29, 2017 | Events, Pictures, Poems
First Friday Open Mic Story by Alex Victoria Photos by Ezekiel Espanola Like too many other Bakersfield summer days, the heat had not abated going into the afternoon, but perhaps thankfully our tiny room within Dagny’s Coffee Shop offered a chilled refuge for...
by Portia Choi | Jul 20, 2017 | Events, Pictures
Story by Portia Choi Photographs by Martin Chang and Portia Choi A new charter school in Bakersfield, Foundation For Second Chances, had poetry as part of their developing leadership component. The school focuses on at-risk young adults to obtain a high school...
by Portia Choi | Jul 12, 2017 | Events
By Martin Chang Photos provided by Nancy McCallion Nancy McCallion and Danny Krieger will be performing at Sheridan House on July 14. Call 661-371-6118 for information. Suggested donation is 10 to 20 dollars. They perform a mix of traditional folk music and...
by Portia Choi | Jun 27, 2017 | Events, Pictures
Story by Portia Choi Photos by Martin Chang At the June 2 open mic, Norma Camorlinga performed her poems before moving to the East Coast. She has been performing regularly at the First Friday poetry event since October 3, 2014. She first attended open mic to...
by Portia Choi | Jun 14, 2017 | Events, Pictures
By Martin Chang and Portia Choi Photos by Portia Choi and Martin Chang When Brendan Constantine shopped at big box stores, he saw the same word over and over. “I was shopping at a place like Smart and Final and they would have industrial versions of different...
by Portia Choi | Jun 1, 2017 | Events, Pictures
Story by Portia Choi Photographs by Ezekiel Espanola The councilman, Andrae Gonzalez, came to the open mic on May 5, 2017. He represents the Bakersfield downtown area that includes Dagny’s Coffee where the open mics are held. Gonzalez recited his poem, “Echo,” about...
by Portia Choi | Apr 29, 2017 | Events, Featured Poet
First Friday April 7 features Diana Ramirez and Thomas Lucero Story by Portia Choi Photographs by Ezekiel Espanola Event hosted by Kevin Shah The two featured poets, Diana Ramirez and Thomas Lucero, performed poetry in the “spoken...
by Portia Choi | Apr 19, 2017 | Events
Story by Portia Choi Photograph by Ezekiel Espanola There is excitement in the auditorium. The first Latino to be named Poet Laureate of the United States, Juan Felipe Herrera will be presenting soon. He is...
by Portia Choi | Apr 12, 2017 | Events, Features
(Katie Collins & Assemblyman Vince Fong) For the first time, Katie Collins, represented Kern County at the Poetry Out Loud competition held in Sacramento. The competition lasted two days and began on Sunday, March 12. Forty-four students competed from all over...
