Beatnik

As I enter Trader’s coffee shop, I hear a jazz band playing in one of the side rooms. I can see eager students drinking their coffee at the small wooden tables. The first poet who got up to read appeared a little nervous, but once she got started reading her poem she became more comfortable in front of the crowd. It was a laid-back, relaxed atmosphere- people were sitting, drinking coffee, and listening to poems written by seventh through twelfth grade students. There were two musicians that performed original compositions. The whole event was to inspire students of the valley to write for a magazine for young poets called Tumbleweed. Towards the end a homeless man wandered in, and played the harmonica and the spoons. It was uplifting to see that even the homeless have music to share even if it was as simple as two metal spoons.