Blurring the Lines at the M.I.A. Art and Literary Series

by Maria Kanai

courtesy rie miyoshi

The last M.I.A. event at Mercury Bar was a collaboration of Tin Fish Press and Hawaii Review,
and over fifty people came out to hear the authors read short stories and poems. Now at Fresh Cafe,
Jaime Gusman believes that M.I.A. can finally reach its true potential. 

Ever read a story out loud? What about a poem? Or better yet, ever read your own story or poem to a listening audience? The moment you speak the words off the page, that’s when the magic happens.

courtesy jaime gusman

Gusman's poems are featured in the current 

issue of the Tinfish literary journal. 

It becomes a one-of-a-kind performance, which is exactly what the M.I.A. events are about. Since its small opening at Mercury Bar on October 2009, M.I.A. has developed into a diverse turnout of readers, writers, and musicians alike.

The M.I.A. Art and Literary Series was started by Jaimie Gusman, a poet hailing from Florida, currently pursuing her PHD in Creative Writing/Poetry. She got the idea from her experiences in the University of Washington, where students would work through different genres and give performances that “fed off each other.”

When she realized that UH Manoa had no art scene specific to the English department in the creative local community, she decided to take action.

“A big part of being in that sort of profession [writing] is that you have to do public reading," Gusman says. "The practice was really good for us, and I realized they didn’t have that here, so I asked to put it together.”

She believes M.I.A. gives writers an opportunity to improve their craft and get the kind of feedback they can’t receive in a safe, classroom atmosphere. Compared to the mainland, Gusman thinks Hawaii’s writing community is smaller and inclusive, but that has its advantages.

“All the writers kind of know each other, and it’s hard to be part of the writing community in general and not know the sub-community within that community," says Gusman. "You go to those readings and you know those people and everyone supports each other. I think it’s largely supportive and it’s easy to get your voice out there.”

courtesy jaime gusman

The next M.I.A event is on March 17, 2011, so mark your calendars. It’s sure to be a great reading, with a new location and new authors. For more information, visit miahonolulu.wordpress.com. And if you’re interested in volunteering or performing, contact Jaimie at miaseries@gmail.com!

But it’s not just writers who can participate. Local musicians perform as well, resulting in a show of words and music that’s uniquely M.I.A. (which by the way, stands for Mixed Innovative Arts). For Gusman, it’s all about blurring the lines between genres.

“I think music and visual art is part of writing in a large part,” she says. “I’m all for short skits, or more improv or dance. Since Fresh Café is more of a bigger space, you could do a lot more with it. I’m interested in just blurring the genre lines and having everything be fun and something that people can go to and think, “I’m going to hear something new and different every time I go to MIA. That’s what I really want.”