So yeah, we totally missed the Poetry Appreciation Month this year.  No major features, no special events.  We plan on making up for it starting this JUNE!

Starting June 3rd we will be hosting a poetry and/or literary event EVERY WEEK!

The highlight will be a special appearance from New York City’s Mahogany L. Browne Sunday June 6th.  The cover is $5.

A little about Mahogany L. Browne:

The Cave Canem Fellow is the Editor of His Rib: Stories, Poems & Essays by HER & Barbershop Chronicles, and author of several books including her latest book of poems: Destroy Rebuild & Other Reconstructions of the Human Muscle. Mahogany has released five LPs including the live album Sheroshima and is the Publisher and founder of Penmanship Books. As co-founder of the Off Broadway poetry production, Jam On It, and co-producer of NYC’s 1st Performance Poetry Festival: SoundBites Poetry Festival, Mahogany bridges the gap between lyrical poets and literary emcee. Her freelance journalism can be found in magazines Uptown, KING, XXL, The Source, Canada’s The Word and UK’s MOBO. She also facilitates performance poetry and writing workshops throughout the country, focusing on women empowerment and youth mentoring. She is the owner of PoetCD.Com, an on-line marketing and distribution company for poets and is the host and curator at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

Also, check out the rest of this months special Poetry events!

Toledo Flows
Thurs. June 3, 8pm, $3

Village Voice Poetry Cafe
Thurs. June 10, 8pm, $3

Azucar Morena’s E-Zone
Thurs. June 24, 8pm, $3

Open Mic and Featured Poets
ALL SUMMER LONG

• Fri. 5-7 Yes, I Said Yes
• Sat. 5-8 Amplified Resonance: Steve Guerrero, Glenn Poorman
• Tue. 5-11 Naki Akrobettoe CD Release Party
• Thur. 5-13 Village Voice Soultry Cafe
• Fri.5-14 Nate Ziegler, Stately Mane, Shannon
• Sat. 5-15 Steve Masternak & Friends

Weekly video updates and live performances broadcasted online!!! Check out our GLTV page for great shows, discussions, movies, and more!

It doesn’t get any better than this.

Three rounds of Championship Slam Poetry.

Featuring the Best and Bravest Poets in the Northwest Ohio, The Midwest, and The Country!

The crowned Ground Level Slam Champion wins a trip to Hawaii to feature at the World Famous First Thursday Slam in Honolulu.

Go Hard or Go Home.

Thurs. Feb. 4
Doors: 7pm
Cover: $5

*Official Rules to follow soon*

People constantly leave stuff at the shop.  Especially on open mic and poetry nights. So its no coincidence we find abandoned notebooks and journals full of interesting stuff.  We thought “Hey, lets post some of this stuff online?”

OK. LET’S! We hope we aren’t offending anyone.  We usually pic the most innocent pieces of material.  And if you happen to recognize your work.  Please stop by and pic it up!!

Here’s a short poem we like to call:  LOVE’S JOY

Your hat
like
love’s joy

Furry
warm
playful

Leveling winter
in smile

Note: all material is the property of the unknown/unnamed author.

Check out these video highlights of our Poetry, open mic, and music events.  And there’s a lot more where these came from.  Special thanks to our good friend El Extreme and WEPA TV for the enormous catalog of footage.

The Ground Level is proud to be hosting this year’s 2009 Toledo City Paper Poetry & Fiction Awards Party , Thursday Aug. 13, 5:30-8:30.

This is the perfect fit for us!  As you all know GL owners Imani Lateef and Jesse Lipman are both established Toledo Poets.  So this evening promises to be a very exciting event for us.  Historic Even!

The party is FREE and open to the public.  Appetizers and complimentary drinks will be available.

AUGUST EVENTS

The Party doesn’t stop there.  The Month of August is Full of exciting events.  Read the “newsletter” below for details.

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GET READY growing Ground Level family, it’s big fun in the summer this August at Toledo’s place to be for community based performance, events, and coffee. Summer’s heat has been late coming, but it’s just in time for the hottest stretch of events our coffee house has put together yet.
It all jumps off Monday night, August 3rd with our weekly, but never weak, open mic night. This is your chance to be in the spotlight or just support your friends. Anything goes; music, poems, jokes, we’ve even had a vocal violinist. Other highlights include The Fairly Handsome Band on Wednesday the 5th doing a mix of tunes including the only set of Hawaiian music you’re likely to find in town. The Soul-Oh concert series returns on Friday the 14th hosted by our talented house vocalist YASU and featuring top local soul, neo soul and hip hop performers. And our weekly Spoken Word night flows every Thursday. It starts at 8, but you know those poets, they come late and linger into the smoky late night mist. So, who knows where these Thursday nights will go, but it’s always interesting.
Sounds good… but wait, there’s much much more. Thursday, August 13th The 2009 Toledo City Paper Poetry and Fiction Awards Show is right here. Honor and hear our city’s literary winners, mingle with local writers and media and enjoy the party. It starts early, 5:30 (hint: free food, but won’t last long). Then, Saturday, August 15th we do our second Ground Level Poetry Slam. If you’ve never been to a poetry slam, and like poetry – even just a little – this is a can’t miss event. A lineup of performance poets recite their most crowd friendly pieces in a contest for cash prizes. Slams are a mix of the silly and the serious, the sexy and the hilarious, the political and the anti-PC. It’s an open sign up, so poets… start practicing and arrive early.
Now, that would be a great month, but there’s more coming than an infomercial. On Saturday the 22nd we go nuts, in an artistically inclined way, with our Live Art Fest. Forget those stuffy gallery openings and guided tours, this is art happening, living, and all around you. We’ve got live painters, glass blowers, dancers, poets, a frickin mural going up on our parking lot wall, and more. Who knows, you may become part of the show as audience and artist become one.
But wait… we’ve also got one of the Ground Level’s favorite customers and most community minded people, Steve North, putting on an event Friday, August 7th . Steve will recite his poetry and bring in a great mix of poets and performers along with open mic time for folks who wanna drop by. The next night, Saturday the 8th another GL regular Michael H. Adams returns for a night of mostly acoustic music in our cozy and comfortable (don’t say nothing about those black couches) performance lounge. Later, on Friday, August 28th  Thosefellas come back to host an informal networking and game night. If you haven’t been to one of their events, check this one out. They do a great job of bringing good folks together. Scrabble, Go, Spades, Chess… old or brand new friends. Starts around 6 and goes till about 11.
And if you act now we’ll even throw in a handful of new acts make their feature debut on our stage. Check out The Eights Fifteens and Amanda Belt each doing a set or two of tunes on Wednesday, the 19th. Both of these acts got their start on our open mic night and worked their way into a feature spot, maybe you can to. Or make your way to 2636 W. Central Ave on Friday the 19th for Betsy and a Ukelele. I know, you’re thinking “what???” don’t ask, just come. Betsy and her uke are tons of fun. Another new, but highly anticipated group, is Hickory Wind. Get ready for them to blow you away with a crowd ready blend of bluegrass, southern rock and more on Saturday, August 29th.
 
Now, if you need a breather after all that, we got you covered. Our Get Grounded yoga series continues on Sunday mornings at 9:30, August 2nd and 9th, then, takes a two week break before coming back on the 30th. This is a great 45 minute yoga class led by Jenn McCullough of Integration Yoga Studio followed by a healthy and hearty brunch. Sign up for the whole series, drop by for a morning, or just do yoga or get a plate (or two). And, finally, if all this got your head spinning faster than a talk radio hack, get yourself realigned using the sound frequencies of the universe. For real, on Wednesday, August 12th frequency attunement practicioner Tobi Saad demonstrates how sound can be used to center your body. Then, offers free sessions to anyone interested.
If you can’t find something here for you, then you just don’t want to be found. See ya around, we’re always here at Ground Level.
 
 
 
 
  


Detroit’s Glenn Poorman will be performing original instrumental music using loops from his Chapman Stick (a unique electric stringed instrument)

What the heck is a Chapman Stick You Ask?  WATCH THE VIDEO and be amazed!

Special Guest: Toledo Area Solo Bassist/Loop Artist Steve Guerro
Doors open at 8pm

I confess
I am a man that has grown to love power tools
So I was rather giddy at the prospect of stripping and cleaning the cafe floors with the rented
Turbo Power Buffer XL5
from Home Depot
and all I can say is…
be warned
the power buffer is no joke
initially, using it is somewhere between
riding a motorcycle for the first time
and taking a Bull Mastiff that’s been locked in the house for 2 days for a walk
in the first 5 minutes
I nearly took Zack’s foot off,permanently bent the solid metal frame of the prep table, and pinned myself against the back kitchen wall
my brain unable to process the command to release power lever
as I impulsively strained to push the beast offa me
Fortunately,
I quickly learned that taming the buffer is a mix
of both strength and subtlety
you control its power while also relaxing into a forceful but steady rhythm
sorta like…
well, the floors have been buffed, stripped, cleaned of years of spilled lattes and dirty feet
check the pics
Now, we polish and finish
In the meantime, come through for our preopening parade
Saturday from 7-11 is our first poetry event
Wednesday the 18th we throw a little birthday bash
for Lucas County Poet Laureate, and my pops, Joel Lipman
Or stop by, email, call and get involved volunteering your labor, skills, or contacts
ask us about a job (everybody is asking, but we’re still listening)
stay in touch
we’re building from the ground up
buff by buff

Jesse and the Buffer

We’ve been racking our brains for weeks on the New Name for the space known as Brewed Awakenings.  A lot of other names were on the top of our list but THE GROUND LEVEL seemed to really resonate with our friends and family.

Jesse was feeling it so much he decided to write the following poem.

“Like to hear it -Here it Go!”

Spring

the renewal of all things living

when the hard edge of winter recedes

revealing

fresh buds and sprouts of green

ankles and knees

hidden for months under boots and jeans

We know times aren’t easy

cutbacks and layoffs

businesses downsizing

but like spring the freshness of life

is cycling back

into new opportunities

Brewed Awakenings is gone

like the swamps of Frogtown, Rusty’s, Swayne Field, Oldsmobiles

but in its place is rebirth

This March

we return to The Ground Level

the roots

the earth

a coffee house owned and operated

by the poets and artists

musicians and baristas

This is a footing

in the foundation of the new Toledo

no more slogans and promises

We are here

pouring our time, money, sweat, and creativity

into this house

and you’re all welcome

Opening this March

get in at The Ground Level

we only go up from here