Lit Out Loud: M.I.A. at Fresh Cafe

Since October of 2009, all manner of creative “writers” have been taking the stage once a month to share their work, whether it be poetry, fiction, essay, music, song, or some other type of performance. This is NOT an open stage. The talent is booked in advance. In other words, M.I.A. focuses on quality, not quantity, with 4 or 5 performers per event.

M.I.A.—which stands for Mixed Innovative Arts—is usually held every third Monday of the month in the Loft at Fresh Café. As the series has grown—from a seed in the mind of then-newly-arrived-to-the-island UHM English department PhD candidate Jaimie Gusman—to the popular place-to-be that it is now, it’s been exciting to see all the community support. This isn’t some rinky-dink, tortured artist clubhouse. You don’t have to wear black and smoke cigarettes to attend—it’s not the 90s and this isn’t, oh I don’t know, Seattle… (Oops, isn’t that where Gusman moved here from?) Anyway, my point is that M.I.A. is for everyone.

What keeps the series so fresh (besides the location)? Collaboration! So far, M.I.A. has teamed up with Bamboo Ridge, Tinfish Press, `Ōiwi, Honolulu Weekly, and, coming this April, Hawai`i Review.

When asked about the future, Gusman said, “I see M.I.A. growing even more so that it can host more writing and art workshops, not just in the summer, but year-round. I also want to collaborate with other non-profits, artists groups, and publishers so that we can further support local writers and artists.”

In the meantime, M.I.A. is putting together an anthology of works featuring past readers/performers. I submitted a story (as I am proud to be among those honored with a spot on the lineup). Fingers crossed on making the final cut…

This month’s evening features Scott Abels, Kelsey Amos, Donovan Kūhiō Colleps, and Caroline Sinavaiana. For more info, visit the event’sFacebook page or the M.I.A website.

If you are interested in performing poetry, fiction, nonfiction, visual arts, or music at M.I.A. email miaseries@gmail.com.