O, Miami Taps Into the Poetry of Food and Beer

O, Miami, the annual poetry festival that runs the entire month of April, is not your run-of-the-mill celebration of poets.

The festival crowdsources most of its events, asking Miamians to suggest different venues and ways to celebrate poetry and the written word. And, because food is an important part of our lives, many O, Miami poetry events — and poems — are about food and drink.

O, Miami founder and executive director P. Scott Cunningham says there's a reason for this.

"Food creates intimate experiences for people," Cunningham tells New Times. "There's something about sharing food that brings people together, and poetry does the same thing."

He notes that the connection between food and poetry is far from new. "Cooking and sharing food goes back to the beginning of human history and poetry is also a very old art form. I like to think that when early man were eating together in front of the fire, they were also sharing poems."

O, Miami's mission, he reiterates, is to make poetry accessible to everyone.

"We want everyone to encounter a poem. Let's try to reach people who wouldn't go to a poetry reading. As much as I love a good poetry reading, that might not be for everyone," he says.

To that end, Tripping Animals Brewing Company (2685 NW 105th Ave., Miami) has brewed a special beer, O, Cheers! Who's Thirsty? The beer is available at the Doral brewery in 16-ounce cans.

In West Kendall, Sweet Melody Ice Cream (15224 SW 72nd St, Miami) will offer different ice cream flavors throughout the month of April, with each flavor inspired by a poem written by a Miami-Dade elementary school student. The subject of these poems? Fruits of Florida, including mango, banana, and papaya.

At Fruit & Spice Park (24801 SW 187th Ave., Homestead), six permanent signs will make up the "Poetry in the Playas" trail. The poems, rendered in English, Spanish, and Creole, will be tropical fruit-themed and written by students from Feinberg Fisher Academy and Morningside K-8 Academy.

Aloha Redland farm (25400 SW 152th Ave., Homestead) will host the Sopa de Letras workshop on Saturday, April 16, at 11 a.m. At the Spanish-language workshop, participants will create a collective poem while they cook soup together and share recipes. The event begins at 11 a.m. and costs $10 to $25 (pay what you can). Register at eventbrite.com.

Cunningham hopes combining poetry and food will entice people to discover renewed appreciation for the written and spoken art form.

"I'm surprised how many Miamians have a personal connection to poetry," he says. "There are so many great poets and a range of experiences, but our thing is to let Miamians speak."