Hello Poetry : Vol 1 (I Was There!)

Yesterday I went to this awesome event called Hello Poetry : Vol 1 organized by Frinjan and Senorita Zine. It was a poetry recital event with the theme of female power. I knew about event from a month back. I was planning to go to this event with a friend, but he cancelled. Nevermind, so I went alone by myself.

I was caught in a doubt, should I go or should I not. But I was all dressed up and taking my first step out of my house was that easy. But finding the place was hard. The cab driver and I got lost, and then after going round all Titiwangsa housing complex area I said "Let's take a turn back home." I was a little bummed but as fate called it, when we made a turn, we found the place. So I guess it was meant to be.

You know, I am such an expert in being alone in the crowd. I did not know any single person there. When I reached the venue, which was just a regular home (but with awesome amenities) called Rumah Titi, the event has started. The event was actually kicking from 12 pm until 6 pm. But they were having a screening of "Girl, Interrupted" so I was just really curious only for the poetry reading session which started at 2 pm onwards. Beside, my friend made an impromptu decision to call off around 2-ish. So, coming at 2 pm was an ideal time.

When I arrived, there were three girls on the stage reciting their poems in Bahasa Melayu. The mood was suddenly quiet and mellow. It had been so long since I had never heard people reciting poem and I merged onto it.

After two more performance, we were having break. I thought, "shit! what would I do?" I was trying to occupy myself by buying souvenirs, because basically I did not know anyone, I did not know who should I talk to. Maybe, few people noticed me acting awkwardly or rather shyly.... But I get that a lot so it really did not bother me, in fact, I was coming alone.

When the event resumed, the performances were getting better. The poets talked about politics, lovelife and even science! There was a unique poem about a cat that needs a scaling, and from all the female poets, I really enjoyed Sheena Baharudin's performance. She was very theatrical and she was very articulate. She had also showcased her book on the event.

By the way, they had an open mic session and I chimed in! You know I am not the bubbliest person in the planet, or the most talented person to recite a poem. But I joined! First, I approached Nia and Atiqah, the MC and the host. They were very welcoming, and so was the audience. When I mentioned that I am an Indonesian and spoke in Indonesian, they were excited. For me it is nice to have both culture melting together. I knew Frinjan community ever since I was in college, my uni's Indonesian body often merged with Frinjan to create an event, mostly bazaar. There are bunch of creative and friendly people in Frinjan. That day I also noticed some of posters from our past event hung around the wall. Frinjan HQ was very warm indeed. So I begun to recite my poem called "Sajak Terburu" . I used to recite poem during junior high, but it was like, poem you read for school material. This one is indeed personal, and somehow I felt a bit of victory to declare it in front of people. The poem is about my infatuation towards a guy I like so much but he did not even care... we've all been there.

It was a surprising day indeed. I met with many creative and warm people. I recited my poem. It was beyond of my expectation despite of my friend's cancellation and the horrible taxi ride that costed RM. 11!

Looking forward to more Hello Poetry! Thank you Frinjan, Senorita Zine and all lovely Malaysian friends.