'Java Monkey Speaks' Marks 11th Year

The Sunday night open mic poetry readings at in Decatur have been going on for 11 years now.

That prompted a sweet story by Lauren Watel on the ArtsAtl website about the casual birthday party at the coffee house/wine bar on Church Street.

The story has a lot of quotes from local poet Kodac Harrison, who founded the readings.

Harrison kicked off the celebration with a poem of his own (see below), introduced each reader, led the crowd in a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” and sliced a large birthday cake into pieces with a sword.

By Harrison’s calculation, Java Monkey Speaks has held readings on 568 Sundays, missing just four in 11 years: one on a Christmas Eve, one on a Christmas Day, one on the Fourth of July and one because of a power outage. The readings begin at 8 p.m.; aspiring readers are encouraged to arrive early to sign up for a spot in one of the two open-mike portions of the evening. Participants, who are allowed to read one piece per night, vary in experience from first-timers to veterans.

If you're interested, show up at 8 p.m. Sunday and find a seat on the patio at Java Monkey at 425 Church St.