Poetry in the Dark

Let’s turn off the lights and speak poems to each other. This is an intimate conversation, not a performance. Please bring inside you a poem you know by heart.

If you think you don’t know any poems by heart, come anyway!

Hosted by Cupertino Poet Laureate Keiko O’Leary.

I carry poems inside me like dear friends. I’d like to introduce you to some of them, and to meet yours. Poetry in the Dark is not a reading or a performance; it is an intimate conversation among friends. Please join other poetry lovers in allowing our poem-friends to speak to each other, and to us.

How it works:
1. We sit in chairs in a circle—there is no audience.
2. We turn off the lights so that no one feels they’re on the spot.
3. Someone recites a poem.
4. That poem inspires someone else to recite a different poem.
5. It’s like the poems are talking to each other!

This is a magical experience. If you’re even a bit curious, please join us.

Keiko O’Leary has been writing poems since the sixth grade and has seen the value of poetry to enhance life for over 30 years. She has published many poems and is the author of Your Writing Matters: 34 Quick Essays to Get Unstuck and Stay Inspired. Keiko is dedicated to passing on the legacy of poetry to the next generation of poets.

For accessibility accommodations (ex. ASL), please fill out the online form at sccld.org/accessibility 7+days prior to the event. If you need assistance with the form, speak with a staff member at your local library, call (408) 540-3945, or email us at ask@sccl.org.