16th & Mission Open Mic Poetry

At the SF BART station, on the corner of Stab and Run — 16^th and Mission — any given Thursday night, 10 till midnight, it’s all there — poets, punks, academics and maniacs stand and stare at the EXCELLENCE that is performance of poetry, music, and general magic of all kinds, all well found under the stars and street light glare, in a circle, made not only of chalk … but of dreams. Its loveable, indomitable curator: the inimitable, Mr. Charlie Getter.

This is still going on!!! I used to live in the Mission and hung out here every Thurs. night a couple years back! If you can tolerate the occasional homeless folks asking you for change, it’s the best spot to drink, *cough, cough*, and listen to EXCELLENT spoken word poetry. A must for poetry lovers.

Don’t let the hipsters brown-​bagging it fool you, because 16^th and Mission Open Mic is actually not as bad as it looks. This is where art, literature, and music becomes unadulterated and anything can happen (I mean, it is in the Mission at NIGHT, afterall). Anyone and anything are welcomed! It’s a great way to be exposed to great poetry, music, and other bizarre forms of art. There is a mixture of different types of people, ranging from the afore mentioned hipsters to dorky college students to bums. Ah, the bums! They add a great element to the open mic night when they either throw stuff at the crowd and argue with them, or sing, clap, and dance to music being played by a seemingly nervous musician.
It’s really a fun time to be had and unpretentious, unlike most open mics I’ve been to, in and outside of San Francisco.

One of my favorite SF events…
I’ve always loved poetry but this is something really to be relished. Real street poetry from the heart, not the show-​boating snooty crap that you find elsewhere. Outside the BART station on Thursday nights come rain or any other weather– people will come out to share their art. and it’s a great place to get your feet wet for the first time reading in public. This is one of my favorite parts of the event since there isn’t any pressure, you just read, sing, ramble– whatever you feel like.
Cons? It’s not perfect. Sadly the trend over the past year has been an increasingly less tolerant crowd. If someone speaking looks homeless, poor, or isn’t a hot twenty-​something then they can get a lot less attention which is a real bummer. My experience has proven that sometimes the least applause can be best though, since you can often times deeply touch just one person in the crowd. I guess that’s the magic of an open mic.
If you live in SF you gotta check this out.

The open mic WITHOUT a mic! These folks have been holding it down for…6 YEARS! These renegades meet in the underbelly of SF for a weekly reading. You better shout loud, and don’t hold back as this is the STREET! That means chock full of noise, chatter and passersby…
Charlie Getter and Brandon Loberg — purveyors of The 16^th and Mission Review, publish an anthology of poetry including many of the poets/​performers who come down to read on Thursday nights.
This thurs May 14^th is a big deal — BOOK X! And yes, yours truly is included.
The DEETS:
Starts at 10pm every Thursday, FREE, a bit seedy (yes, there are crackheads), but oh so FUN. Just do it.