New Open Poetry Slam series debuts tonight

So what exactly is a "First Amendment" open mike?

That's the question I posed to poet Jana Willoughby (also known as MC Vendetta), the organizer and host of Buffalo's newest Open Poetry Slam and First Amendment Open Mike series which debuts from 7 to 10 tonight at her just-opened North Buffalo performance space, Bon Vivant at 1862 Hertel Ave. at Parker (the site once occupied by the old Parker Pharmacy).  The event is free and open to the public.

"The concept of the first amendment microphone, for me, comes from slam poetry," says Willoughby, one of the co-editors of Earth's Daughters magazine and a veteran of the performance poetry and poetry slam circuit.  "It is a microphone and a space to say what's really on your mind, your real freedom of speech and expression. It's open to art of any kind as long as it is thoughtful and not derogatory."

"I love living in America," asserts Willoughby, "when I can uphold the freedoms that we were originally founded on: freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of assembly for starters. I do know that there will be things said on the microphone that might be offensive to some people, or to make them uncomfortable so I open the evening with the 'First Amendment microphone' to allow those more sensitive people (or those with little children)  to leave if they want before it begins."

After The Buffalo Infringement Festival (of which this event is a part) concludes next month, the series will likely move to Wednesday nights, says Willoughby, who is hoping to turn Bon Vivant into a seven nights a week venue on Buffalo's alternative arts and entertainment scene.

--R.D. Pohl