Members of The First Page Creative Writing Club attended The Philly Pigeon’s “Late(ish) Poetry Show” on Nov. 7 at the Philadelphia Mausoleum of Contemporary Art (PhilaMOCA). Held on the first Friday of each month, the show is run by writers and cultural organizers Kai Davis, Jasmine L. Combs, Mateo Souada and Jacob Winterstein.
Doors opened at 8 p.m., and by the time the show began at 8:30, the venue was packed. Upbeat music mixed by an onstage DJ, and rotating red lights set the tone for a lively night of poetry. As they entered, audience members were invited to drop their names into a hat for a chance to perform during the open mic.
Combs served as host for the night. She began by asking the audience for “gripes,” or minor grievances, followed by what they were thankful for. She then drew three names from the hat to take the stage. Each performer was given three minutes to perform their poem. Audience members were encouraged to snap and vocally express their approval when a line resonated with them, and boo in the rare event of hate speech, though Combs reassured the crowd that such an incident had only happened once before.
The main event featured three poets dubbed the “Old Heads,” including Davis, and three student poets from Temple University’s Babel Poetry Collective, dubbed the “Young Bulls.” Five volunteers from the audience served as judges for the friendly competition, where the two teams competed for pound cake.
“Some of the poems that you’ll hear today have been painstakingly written, handcrafted … some of the poems you’re going to hear will be improvisational, freestyle, came up with eight minutes ago backstage,” Combs said. “Be ready to be on an emotional rollercoaster.”
The competition unfolded in five rounds. In the first, each poet performed an original three-minute poem, alternating between teams. The second round featured haikus, followed by one-minute poems in the third. In the fourth round, each team performed a group poem inspired by slang from the other team’s generation. After each round, judges held up whiteboards to vote, writing an “O” for Old Heads or a “Y” for Young Bulls. In line with the non-competitive nature of the event, Combs encouraged judges to vote in a way that would ensure a tie for the final round.
For the final segment, the audience shouted out words used in an improvised group poem: “clementine” for the Old Heads and “glizzie” for the Young Bulls. The DJ pressed a buzzer to signal when each performer’s turn ended. At the end, the crowd erupted in raucous applause.
Winterstein and poet Alyesha Wise co-founded The Philly Pigeon after traveling together while on a poetry slam team. “We started The Philly Pigeon with the goal of it being a high-quality produced show with a DJ and music, and a large attendance for a poetry show,” Winterstein said. “A lot of poetry events at that time were relegated to coffee shops or bookstores.”
He explained that the Philly Pigeon focuses on artists whose work is rooted in community or social justice. “Performance poetry and spoken word, that’s a lot of the work, so we have a lot to choose from.” The team also seeks out artists who incorporate multimedia elements such as music, theater and visuals into their set.
While the Philly Pigeon began as a traditional poetry slam, the show’s format evolved after the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the team held virtual poetry slams over Zoom. “We met up as a collective and discussed what elements we like about the show,” Winterstein said. “We decided to build a show around those elements instead of a competition, which at times could just be stressful or intense. We also saw that the competition was breeding a lot of similarities in performances. Poets see someone else do well and start to mimic them, which feels different from being inspired by someone’s work.”
Still, audience participation remains central. “A cool aspect of slam, even though we don’t like the competition, is that a poetry slam says to the audience that your opinion matters. That’s a really democratizing force in the art form,” Winterstein said. He added that the show expects audience members to be “active participants” rather than “passive observers.”
Recently, the foundation that funded the Philly Pigeon, which supported poetry events led by and for people of color, was eliminated. “We see across the funding landscape that out of the racial justice uprising in 2020, a lot of funders were funding work that was by and for people of color, especially Black folks,” Winterstein said. “As 2020 fades from people’s memories, we’re seeing a lot of those initiatives close up shop.”
Winterstein noted that the general underfunding of spoken word poetry is in part due to its roots in African American oratory tradition and youth culture, as well as its transient nature. “We don’t have poetry companies the same way there are theater companies,” he said. “We don’t have organizations existing outside of academia that are as strong or as big in poetry.”
Following the loss of their funding, the Philly Pigeon launched a crowdfunding campaign for the first time in 15 years since its founding. They recently reached their $9,000 goal, securing enough funds to complete the 2025-2026 season. “We feel confident that with the time bought from our community, we’ll be able to apply for more grants and get more funding,” Winterstein said.
Winterstein encouraged students to attend the show: “It’s a great way to get out into the city and experience the local scene. The show is all ages, so it’s a great way to have a night out in the city and not have to worry about being 21 or older.”
“We’ve seen a lot of people go from open mic poets to being featured poets,” he added. “It could be a great way to start if folks are curious about poetry or performing their poetry.”
The Philly Pigeon’s next show will be held on Dec. 5 at PhilaMOCA. General admission tickets are $15 at the door, or $10 with a student ID.
