Jack Kerouac, Beat Generation novelist, poet, and icon to everyone from Hunter Thompson to Bob Dylan, once passed through Harrisburg, adorned with rucksack and notebook, upon one of his numerous journeys from ocean to ocean. And how did this capital city greet this postmodern troubadour? He was run out of town. What a way to honor a man whose most famous work, On The Road, is now a staple of both college and high school English courses all across this land he loved so much.

However, after all these years, Harrisburg finally has an opportunity to make amends to the literary gods and goddesses. How? By embracing the new poetry right here in River City.

Almost every night of the week there is something going on in the poetry ring the Harrisburg region, and this ain’t your grandma’s poetry we’re talking about. Many people, when they hear the word ‘poetry,’ get a yawning sensation that wells up inside of them and is just dying to get out. If that is your perception of poetry then it is about time you got up and out and visited the alluring insanity of the spoken word.

There are poetry venues for as far as the naked eye can see. The most well-known spots are The North Street Café; The St. Moritz; The Writer’s Wordshop at Whitaker Center; The Vault; and Pomfret Books and Mandy’s Coffeeshop, both located in Carlisle. Poetry nights in the York and Lancaster areas can also be found. The readings at these places are vibrant and heart pounding. You will find poetry of all makes and models, of all shapes and sizes, of all colors and creeds. It is performance art at its most eclectic and electric.

These open mic poetry nights have now become nights of creative humor and intellectual manna from heaven. And the spoken word is just part of the story. The Capital area has also seen a Renaissance of poetry magazines, such as The Harrisburg Review, Beauty for Ashes, Verb-o-city, The Writer’s Wordshop Journal, Logodaedalus, and The Experimental Forest.

The time is ripe and ready for the onslaught of a rebirth of poetry. For centuries, millennia even, bards have been passing the laurel. As we look toward a future for society we know that things can never be the same as before. Language is alive and can be anything we want it to be, and through it we can create a brave new world.

Don’t miss the chance to shout your own words and dance on the tables. And maybe the next Jack Kerouac will be invited to hang around.

Kevyn Knox is a local poet and wears his beret at Crown Books in Mechanicsburg. Watch for more of his updates on the literary life in future issues of MODE.

©1990-2003 Copyright ScotGiambalvo.com. “MODE Weekly™”, and “MODEweekly.com™”  are trademarks of Scot Giambalvo.
All rights reserved. Copying content from this site without permission is illegal. Linking to this site as if it was your own is just plain rude.
Click here for usage/link permission.