Spoken word poet Markell “Kell-O-G” Mooney has organized this free community event for 17 years in his family home’s backyard at 5156 W. Concord Place.
“I’m excited about it. It’s just that rush you get for just being able to host and just be this humanitarian,” Mooney said. “Just bringing people in for three or four hours, just keeping them safe and engaged in some beautiful words. I think that’s just like the ultimate goal.”
With the pandemic receding and patrons and artists asking about the next show, he “felt the spirit was right” and decided it was time to bring the open mic show back to the West Side.
“I just got a little poetry going, and I just felt like, you know what we gotta do. We just have to do one … put one in the books for the summer,” Mooney said before Saturday’s event. He added his mother, who has helped produce the event at her home, immediately agreed.
In past years, Poetry on the Patio has provided people and artists from the community with a safe space to share their spoken words on stage, enjoy a meal and connect with other people.
Chicago poet Pierre Butcher “DarkChild” said he is “ready to see Chicago come out and show out” for a family-oriented event filled with “good vibes and great artists.” Butcher will co-host the event.
Poetry on the Patio is also a platform for artists, those just emerging and the more experienced, to “share their words,” Mooney said.
“We create that umbilical cord that stretches from the West Side of Chicago to the South Side, to Englewood, to the East Side, where those different shows up north [are held], to different shows in the burbs. It’s just a big umbilical cord of poetry.”
Doors open at 8 p.m. with performances running until midnight, Mooney said. Being an open mic event, anyone who wants to share a poem or spoken word piece can get on stage, even if it is their first time.
“My advice for them is that no one is above anyone at this point,” Butcher said.
“This is spoken words. Your views and opinion are yours … If you feel like you wanna get on stage for the first time, go out and do it. You might not know it, someone might need to hear your words and your heart.”
While Mooney is not new to spoken word, he will be getting back on stage to debut a few new pieces “he’s been dying to share with the audience,” he said.
Some of his lines from his book Words of Life “just might pop out a little bit during the show.”
The event will also include a fashion show featuring two local businesses, Cheryl Renee’s Things, an online and retail boutique selling handmade fashion jewelry, clothing, shoes and various other accessories, and Suburban Knight Clothing, a luxury streetwear brand by Chicago designer Wilbert Williams, who draws inspiration from South Africa.
