Hot Springs poet Daniel Davis will be the featured poet at Wednesday Night Poetry at Kollective Coffee + Tea, 110 Central Ave.
The regular open mic session for all poets, musicians, and storytellers will begin at 6:30 p.m. today. Davis will begin his feature set at 7:15 p.m., followed by another round of open mic. Admission is free and open to all ages. Masks are recommended. All are welcome.
Born in DeQueen in 1978, Davis graduated from DeQueen High School in 1998 and went to Arkansas Tech for a short period before returning home to help run the family business C&C Glass Inc. "I put in 26 years there, and I ran and owned it for 10 of those years," he said in a news release.
"I moved to Hot Springs five years ago to try and start my life over. I've been coming to Hot Springs my whole life and always loved the area. I figured what better place than here to try again.
"I enjoy motorcycle riding, racing motocross, mountain bike riding, pretty much anything that will get the adrenaline pumping. I love taking the boat out on the lakes and fishing with my son," he said.
"I'm a single parent. I have a 15-year-old son, Alex. He lives for pizza, fishing and bowling. If that's all he could do the rest of his life, he would. My son has a cat named Sofia. He rescued her from the animal shelter when she was a kitten. She has a possum, a raccoon, and a skunk for friends that she hangs out with."
Davis started attending Wednesday Night Poetry earlier this year, and it was not long until he found himself on the microphone, sharing work of his own. "I've always enjoyed reading and listening to poetry, but I never actually put my thoughts to paper until recently. I would have to say my poetry is inspired by events in my life. I'm not sure how it would be categorized. It's pretty raw and I tell ya how I'm feeling at that moment in time when it's written," he said.
"Wednesday Night Poetry means a lot to me. It's a place where one can release thoughts and emotions in a healthy way without being judged or ridiculed and tell their own story of life. It's place where we can share a space together. It's a home away from home," Davis said.
"Daniel has grown tremendously in his confidence and in his work as a poet over the last few months. I know that he has used poetry recently to heal from some dramatic life changes, and has now become an example for the community in exemplifying how to move through darkness with words, how to heal. I am really proud of him, and I am so excited for his feature," WNP Host Kai Coggin said in the release.
This week marks 1,758 consecutive Wednesdays of open mic poetry in downtown Hot Springs since Feb. 1, 1989. "WNP is the longest-running consecutive weekly open mic series in the country," the release said. Email [email protected] for more information.