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Brewing up some poetry

Mariah Alix

Connector Contributor

Hiding within the streets of Lowell are an assortment of the arts, spoken word and competitive poetry being one of them. Downtown Lowell itself holds the wonderful Brew’d Awakening on Market Street, which holds an open mic and poetry slam every first and third Tuesday of each month from 6 to 9 p.m.

Talent erupts as many come out to share their work with students, residents of Lowell, and beyond. UMass Lowell freshman, Joseph Bordeleau, attends and performs as often as he can.

“Brew’d is just…special,” Bordeleau said. “The open mics there are perfect because of the people that come. It ranges ages 5 to 95, no joke.”

Bordeleau said his life of poetry began when his high school hosted a poetry contest. He originally entered to get himself out of class for the day, but found himself loving the artsy vibe. Soon after, a spoken word artist performed for his class and he immediately fell in love with the art.

Due to struggles in his home life, he was unable to pursue poetry until he later attended an open mic and joined Lowell’s youth slam team, Freeverse. Ever since, he’s been performing, Brew’d being one of his favorite venues.

Bordeleau discussed the welcoming feeling he gets every time he performs at a Brew’d open mic. The crowd is, indeed, a diverse group, each with a unique story to tell and always open to hearing the tales of others.

“Before I met all these amazing people, I kind of ignored the oppression that goes on in this country,” Bordeleau said. “I’ve met transgender men and women, queer men and women, I’ve met victims of police brutality, victims of rape, and the beauty in it all is that we all share the common love of poetry.”

Not only is it pure entertainment, it’s real feeling and expression and a way for people to bring awareness to their conflicts. Brew’d gives the opportunity for these stories to be told. With art hanging on the walls and consistent open mics, the small cafe is truly a place for expression

First-time poets and performers come in often to share new stories. It’s definitely not an exclusive group.

“First-timers at the mic get so much extra support it’s nuts, and even if you don’t want to perform, sit and enjoy a night of getting to know the deepest parts of people who spill it into a mic,” said Bordeleau.

Regardless of whether or not you’re a person who’s into poetry, Brew’d is a great cafe to visit.

“It’s the best place to be. Period.”

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