Outlaws In Plain Sight: Baltimore’s Underground Rebellion
November 16, 2024 – Baltimore, MD
Cyril Scovens II
The Peoples Press
The dim light of the bar casts long shadows across the stage, where a composed voice begins to recite a poem about heartbreak, love, and loss. The audience, sipping on mocktails and holding their breath, listens intently, captivated by the raw honesty.
A short walk from Penn Station, I arrive at The Depot a bar that could be as a sight for sore eyes. Plastered on several windows at the door is a poster reading “New Outlaws Poetry Open Mic” fashioned with a drawing from one of the returning members of the poetry collective.
The New Outlaws poetry group was created with one thing in mind, community; providing a safe space for those who write poetry. Allowing people from all walks of life to be able to share their writings and be able to hear other’s writings.
The New Outlaw poetry open mics continue to gain more members, the open mics range from fifteen to twenty returning members with about eight to ten new people signing up to perform. The difference between New Outlaws and other poetry open mics is that there are no premiere writers or authors, and that people are able to share more than one poem.
Michael Monroe, the creator of the poetry group who is also a violin musician in the Baltimore area believes that this group is special because he allows everyone to share no matter the form of poetry. This means that people can share traditional rhythm-based poetry, sonnets, haiku’s etc.
Micheal Monroe shares that his poetry open mics are coming to a year since he first began to promote them. Enthusiastically stating that his Facebook group has over one hundred poets from the city of Baltimore. He also hosts a writing workshop to pair with the open mic, these are held every first and third Monday of the month. The writing workshop is held in a room of St. Luke’s Cathedral in Hampden.
“This is for the outlaws, the nerds, the ones that don’t fit in, bring them all to me” said Michael Monroe, the creator of the New Outlaw poetry group. As Michael reads his poem you can get a sense of the people that his group is attracting. People who sit on the fringes of society; those who are different, those who don’t fit in, outlaws in the face of society.
Michael Monroe is a single father of four, while his kids are a reason that he writes he also believes that his boredom from everyday life is a reason he wanted to create the group. “I graduated from college after some life things happened, I got a degree in English. After a while I became an editor, but I hated editorial work. Then I went back to school for Information Systems. Now I do IT by day and poetry at night. I only get my kids on weekends so during the week I have to figure out what to do with myself. What better way to use my degree and time than creating a poetry open mic.” Said Michael Monroe, the creator of the New Outlaw poetry group.
Micheal Monroe’s favorite type of poetry to write is based on music, from a musician’s standpoint he believes that he can write poetry that has the semblance of the cadence of different music During the open mic he shared three different poem’s two of them which were made with the intention of sounding like rock and roll music. Michael also doesn’t hold back on his use of profanity in his poetry, believing that at times his truest expression or emotions aren’t always amiable.
One newcomer, including myself, was Michael P. Writes, an older poet who has self-published many titles. He is currently writing a poetry cookbook infusing writing with recipes that he has made. Believing that poetry and cooking aren’t very different, both are acts of the soul. He is a Chicago native that travels back and forth from Maryland to Chicago for work. He dedicates his writing to his only son, stating that he wants to give his twenty-eight-year-old son hope and show him that it’s okay to be different and do something new.
Michael P. Writes believes that a poet should use their platform and writing to identify systems in the world that need changing. Highlighting events that are happening in the world that are leading to a downfall or collapse in society. “Poets are like philosophers or like the prophets from the bible. It’s almost like we see things before they happen, and we give it to the public. It’s up to the people if they want to believe it and in hindsight when something happens all we can say is we told you. I guess its really just about if that one person gets and connects with the message we are giving out.” Said Micheal P. Writes local and traveling poet.
Michael P. Writes shared three different poems during the open mic, one which was in honor to a tree that he saw at a museum. The tree in the exhibit was about the Native American’s which was a symbol that they had held as sacred. He wrote about the connection between the things people hold sacred and that sacred thing being taken from you.
A regular Michael Scott is an ex-band singer whose poetry includes nostalgia from his singing days. He memorizes everything he writes, this is because a vast majority of his early writing comes from lines from songs he and his band made. Compiling all of these works into a poetry collection titled Soundtracks for the New Millennium.
Michael Scott has been attending poetry open mics and writing workshops since its conception. He is good friends with Micheal Monroe and continuously shows up to support the group. “I’ve been coming since Mike started this open mic. It started with just a few people and now we’ve grown a lot…it’s cool seeing everyone preform and meeting new people. Some people like to just come and listen to everyone else its good that we made space for that too.” Said Michael Scott, a Baltimore area poet and musician.
The poetry open mic is aging finely with a number of recurring members and new members bringing a sense of community back into the art form. Michaael Monroe shares sentiments about eventually expanding the open mic. Possibly into a traveling group that attends open mic’s across state lines. Or simply finding a better building for the venues.
The Depot also has open mics for musicians every Tuesday where up and coming bands and solo performing artists can come and share their works. Michael Monroe also is the coordinator of that open mic. “You can always come and share on Tuesdays, after all of the artist are done sharing I always do a poem or two at the end nobody minds.” Said Michael Monroe the creator of the New Outlaw Poetry Group
In a world often too busy to listen, this small stage reminds us of the power of sharing and being heard. Each poem, whether whispered or shouted, becomes a bridge between strangers, fostering empathy and understanding in a way that few other mediums can. Emotions are a vital part of human experience, and so is our connection to one another. In the glow of the open mic, voices unite, creating a tapestry of shared stories that reaffirm our collective realities. This open mic is more than an event; it’s a reminder that even in a fast-paced world, there’s still space for vulnerability, creativity, and the timeless art of truly listening.
