On the third Monday of every month at Mama Jambo, wordsmiths of every hue are given four minutes of egalitarian amplification at Mama JambOPEN, a spoken word open-mic night.
Time is the only major limitation. Those 240 precious seconds can be devoted to the spontaneous spitting of rhyme or the impassioned recitation of a slavishly revised collection of stanzas.
You can read your hastily jotted napkin musings or imbue the words of Bukowski or Neruda with your own flavour. Local poet and performer Peach Klimkiewicz is the facilitator and organiser of this inclusive monthly literary love-in. He tells us the peachiest locations to pen poetry in Adelaide.
Payneham Library
Hop off the O-Bahn and hide away in one of the personable window-side nooks of Payneham Library. You’ll get your own desk and chair, a view of the suburbs, hear a few gentle aisle whispers and maybe see me waving hello; ignore me though because we should be writing poetry.
Morgan Thomas Lane
Just out the back of the State Library and out the front of the Migration Museum, Morgan Thomas Lane feels like a pocket of mystery and historic brick in the heart of Adelaide. Write away!
The airport
Ah, the airport is one big hall of narrative in focus. Humans coming home, hearts leaving and hoping to find themselves lost somewhere in the world, mixtures of excitement and apprehension – it’s a melting pot of adventure, passports, flying machines and sleep-deprivation. It’s poetry before it hits the page.
A park and a bench
These two items work well together to attract muse and they’re plentiful, scattered all over Adelaide. The quieter, denser and larger the park and the more remote the bench the better. You can really do Wordsworth proud.
My room
In fact this one trumps all others. Easy and accessible bar the oft-poor back support in bed, my room is where I receive the least inspiration but where I seem to migrate most to so as to translate inspiration to words. But I’m sure that your room works just as well. Indeed, my room is not an exhaustive category in this context.
Mama JambOPEN takes place on 21 May at Mama Jambo. Entry is by gold coin donation.
