by Portia Choi | Oct 30, 2017 | Featured Poet, Interviews, Kern County Poet, Pictures, Poems, Uncategorized
Mateo Lara (1) Andrew Sanchez Caleb Coley Catherine David T DonThompson (1) Greg Stanley Hector Oseguera Helen Evangelista (1) Jimmy Borja JoseandJunior Kevin Shaw Mandy Anderson (1) Nikola Hermosilla (1) Ron McGowan (1) Samantha Nichols (1) Shanna O'Brien (1) Shelley...
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 | 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 | May 26, 2017 | Pictures
LicetRomero portiachoi shannaobrien (1) JoseLemus TLucer gregstanley (1) dianaramirez (1) gstanley Story by Portia Choi Photographs by Ezekiel Espanola It was a celebration of the arts in the sculpture garden of The Arts Council of Kern on April 21, 2017. There was...
by Portia Choi | May 17, 2017 | Interviews, Pictures, Poems
The taste of a grape and the fragrance of a crushed mint leaf, help writers to compose poems. On April 10, Portia Choi facilitated a workshop on “Writing Poems of Awe and Wonder” at the Art and Spirituality Center of Dignity Health, 2215 Truxtun Avenue. Choi had the...
by Portia Choi | Mar 13, 2017 | Events, Featured Poet, Interviews, Pictures, Poems
Shanna O’Brien was the featured performer at the Open Mic on March 3. The Open Mic is held at Dagny Coffee, downtown Bakersfield, every First Friday at 6:00 pm. O’Brien has performed since 1980. A few of the places were the Mandarin Hotel in Singapore and MGM...
