Poet-a-tete a poetic explosion

For some people, poetry is a hobby. For others, it is a passion. Once strictly underground, now Spoken Word has become extremely popular, and widespread. One poet that has been making a difference in the Spoken Word culture is native Washingtonian, Cheryl Crockett.
I first met Cheryl back in 2003, where she was part of the cast of a stage play. Upon our meeting she stood out to me, and 7 years later I continue to see her stand out and make a difference. Cheryl is the founder of Poet-a-tete, which is a monthly, Spoken Word event for all ages. She and I took a walk down memory lane as I learned more about her vision for Poet-a-tete, and how her vision eventually came to fruition.

In the Spring of 2000, Cheryl entered and won a Slam contest at a local bookstore. The family friendly atmosphere intrigued her, and spurred a desire in her to share this culture with her daughters, without compromising the manner in which she was raising her children. During the summer of that year, Cheryl submitted a proposal for her event, which was approved. It was then that Poet-a-tete was born.
When asked about the vision and mission of Poet-a-tete, Cheryl’s response for her vision was to see people from all walks of life discover and experience the joys of reading, writing and listening to poetry.
The mission of Poet-a-tete is to cultivate an inclusive and mutually supportive poetry community for all ages that reflects our diverse culture.

Since starting Poet-a-tete, Cheryl has had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people. Among them, Henry Taylor (Pulitzer prize recipient for poetry), Omekongo Dbinga (Author and poet), Kwame Alexander (Author and poet), and the late Mattie Stepanek (child poet whose books have been the best-selling poetry books above all other poetry books for last half-century.) All three were featured guests at Poet-a-tete.
When asked where she saw Poet-a-tete going in the near future, her very confident response was “to return slam competitions, cultivate sponsors, add multiple artistic expressions, and to grow.” I guess she’s a woman that knows what she wants.

Upon looking deeper into what sets Poet-a-tete apart from other local venues, I learned that Poet-a-tete is not restricted to age, demographic, style, etc. Everyone is welcome, and everyone is encouraged. The only requirement is that language be kept appropriate for all ages.
When recent participants were asked their thoughts on Poet-a-tete, they all had very positive things to say about the experience. Errick Washington Jr. of Washington, DC had this to say: “It gives me great pleasure to comment on poet-a-tete. Anything that has to do with expression holds my attention. My wife and I have been to poet-a-tete as our date nite and we had a ball!”
Visiting from Atlanta, Ga, Miles Bell, had very positive things to say about Poet-a-tete as well. “Your poetry slam was fun! Meeting Omekongo Dbinga was a real treat. Hearing live music is always a beautiful thing. Jason's original song for Poet-a-tete was special. Your event inspired me to go back into my passion for creative writing.”  For an event to refuel the desire for creative writing, and to reignite the fire in those that attend, has got to be an extraordinary one!

Poet-a-tete is held at Ebenezers Coffeehouse, 201 F st. NE, Washington, DC. The next event will be held on May 27th @ 7:15. You can find Poet-a-tete and Cheryl Crockett on Facebook and @poetatete on Twitter. You can also find more information on www.poetatete.net.