Last year, I attended my first Books by the Bay Festival at Museum Plaza in Pensacola, Florida. A lot of things were set in motion for me that day, from nurturing a love of poetry to my first position on the board of a nonprofit organization.
But let’s start at the beginning. By the time of the 2025 Books by the Bay Festival, I had been attending my local poetry open mic like it was Sunday church. Like clockwork, you could find me and my friends at Pensacola Poetry for their Tuesday open mic sharing our art. At that point, I mostly shared my music, as I didn’t consider my poetry “good enough” compared to the other fantastic artists on the stage. At least as the only musician, I felt like I still had something to offer.
However, one form of poetry that naturally drew me in was haiku. Haiku is a Japanese style of poetry that consists of three lines. The first line is five syllables, the second line is seven, and the final line returns to five syllables. In traditional haiku, the subject is usually focused on nature, but more modern haiku poetry covers a wide range of topics.
I loved how restrictive the form was, as it forced me to get really creative with my word choice. Additionally, since my other specialty was songwriting, it felt radically different from what I normally create and pushed the boundaries of my art.
Despite this, I didn’t feel confident in sharing this art with others. My friends encouraged me to try the Haiku slam at Books by the Bay, if for nothing else, to experience a poetry slam and push my comfort zone out a little further. So, I took their advice, and I signed up.
And I won.
Suddenly, I was starting to get recognized in the poetry community for this win. A few weeks later, I heard of another haiku slam and I decided to attend. I also won this slam, which earned me the prize of a free year of membership in Emerald Coast Writers, a local nonprofit focused on providing authors the tools they need to share their stories with the world. As a member, I saw just how much good this organization brought to the arts community, and wanted to bring that goodness into my social circles.
Cut to this past January, and I run for the Director of Communications position at Emerald Coast Writers. Not only did I have a passion for the organization, but I also saw an opportunity to put my marketing degree and years of experience to some use helping other creatives like me achieve their goals. I was voted in, and currently serve on the board.
And now, I have attended my second Books by the Bay Festival. This year, the festival has grown so much that we had to move to Bayview Park, a larger space over in the East Hill neighborhood of Pensacola, Florida. There, I volunteered not just as a board member, but as the events announcer, information booth guide, and even as a photographer and videographer when I had any down time. I did take a break to compete in this year’s haiku slam, where I became the first two-time champion of the festival’s haiku slam.
I cannot wait to see what other adventures await me as a member of the Board for Emerald Coast Writers and next year’s Books by the Bay!
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