Open mics and poetry events pick up across Chennai

Spoken word poetry sees a growing community in Chennai, aided by open mics and slam poetry events, which promise to be safe spaces for personal exploration

“Whenever I write something, I love reading it aloud because I feel like I am giving life to something,” says Sripratha Murali Krishnan, a budding poet, storyteller and college student.

As more open mics and slam poetry events spring up in the city, first-time and seasoned performers are ready to step out of their comfort zones.

Varsha VR, co-founder of Uncalled Knacks, a Chennai-based open mic community says, “At least 57 performances were poetry [open mics] in the last eight months.” Thomas Davis of House of T, another open mic community in Chennai agrees, “It used to be four to eight poets per show. Now, a minimum of 12 to 20 poets perform for eight minutes each.”