{"id":908,"date":"2026-01-27T11:25:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T16:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/?p=908"},"modified":"2026-02-10T13:18:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T18:18:35","slug":"nyc-teen-open-mic-1-24-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/nyc-teen-open-mic-1-24-26\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Live Gatherings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by L\u00e9na Roy, Chief of Education and Program Innovation<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Even with frigid temperatures and excitement about Sunday\u2019s snowstorm, teens still bundled up and came out to La Marqueta in East Harlem for a Teen Open Mic. In concert with the Nuyorican<\/a> and hosted by Yesi\u2019s Bookstore and Giftshop<\/a>, we were given a warm welcome by all at La Marqueta. Black Eyed Peas, a vegan restaurant, was offering free yellow rice to all, and Mama T\u2019s was busy making hot drinks for folks. And Yesi offered a 10% discount on all of her carefully curated books and charm bracelets. Of note is that she makes her own all-natural candles, which smell like heaven. The vibe was warm and vibrant!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our teen emcees were Creative Portfolians senior Naomi Jeske and sophomore Celi Flores. Naomi has been a Writopian since the fourth grade, while Celi is a recent recruit to Creative Portfolio. She has been coming to our Open Mics for the past two years and has consistently blown everyone away! Their warmth and enthusiasm helped over ten performers take the stage, including three incredible 8th graders from the Baldwin School in Long Island, and our very own Writopians, Angie Rubenstein, Alexis Wu, and Callie Fromm, and more! I was particularly moved by a young man who was inspired to create and perform a poem on the spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naomi and Celi passed out Post-it notes with \u201cwhen it\u2019s cold\u201d and \u201cwhen it\u2019s warm\u201d as prompts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the Q and A, it became crystal clear how important gatherings like these are, and how AI will never be able to take away or replicate authentic work that comes from the gut, the heart, and sometimes even the funny bone! These young writers spoke eloquently about strength in vulnerability, and about figuring things out through writing.
We\u2019re so excited for the next Open Mic on Saturday, March 21st, 2026 – the spring equinox! You can RSVP here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by L\u00e9na Roy, Chief of Education and Program Innovation Even with frigid temperatures and excitement about Sunday\u2019s snowstorm, teens still bundled up and came out to La Marqueta in East Harlem for a Teen Open Mic. In concert with the Nuyorican and hosted by Yesi\u2019s Bookstore and Giftshop, we were given a warm welcome …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-staff-voices","entry entry-center"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9aRpX-eE","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":892,"url":"https:\/\/www.writopialab.org\/writopiaspeaks\/teen-open-mic-with-the-nuyorican-poets-cafe-saturday-november-22nd-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":908,"position":0},"title":"Finding Community in a New Space","author":"L\u00e9na Roy","date":"December 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Written by L\u00e9na Roy, Director of Teen Programs Saturday, November 22nd, 2025 marked Writopia and the Nuyorican\u2019s new partnership with Yesi\u2019s Book Store and Gift Shop, where we had our first Teen Open Mic since July. 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