In classic call-and-response fashion, poet jusWill encourages a crowd of artists and spectators ranging in age, ethnicity and levels of poetic experience to participate as he says “build a poem” into the microphone followed by their enthusiastic “write an empire.”
This is the scene every other Tuesday evening for his “Free .99” open mic, held at Peace of Mind pub on the city’s Northeastside.
jusWill, whose real name is Will King III, says the well-known catchphrase came to him while lying in bed one day. “I’m always talking about building. For me, poetry is building. When people are networking, that’s building.”
This concept of “building” has its roots in Five-Percenter/Nation of Gods and Earths ideology. Building is simply the act of expounding on concepts of mutually shared truths through good old-fashioned conversation.
For King, who is a barber by trade, being an artist has given him a chance to build empires with his words. Although he is not an event promoter, the gift of poetry has allowed him the opportunity to have relationships with other artists, thus spawning a family of events which includes the bi-weekly “Free .99” set; the Greenhouse AFFECT, an open mic that meets inside a posh beauty salon, which features an eclectic mix of artists and a yummy catered meal; and jusWill Presents: B. YOND Music, a talent showcase for local and regional entertainers.
King, who has been on the scene for more than a decade, got into hosting events about three years ago. He noticed that some of Indy’s poetry gatherings were closing up shop and the crowds were getting smaller. He began traveling to other cities and would take notes on what did and didn’t work.
“I was determined to create something where people would always get their money’s worth,” he said, citing that providing an entertaining and artistic, yet accessible atmosphere for people of all walks of life is the goal. The familial vibe patrons experience at each of his three events is evidence of that.
Far from the stereotypical images of drums, headwraps, and incense, jusWill and his crew create a place where snapbacked, Birkenstocked, stiletto-pumped messengers are free to share their gifts via rap, spoken word, comedy, and whatever else they come up with.
Beyond the outward appearance of patrons, he has also noticed the power poetry has in bridging generation gaps. King recalled a moment where he attended a set where the audience was mostly comprised of those who identify with the hip-hop crowd. He did a poem about the rising rates of violent crime in Indianapolis called “My City: For Better or For Hearse” and got a great reaction from the young men, many of them remarking that when they think of poetry, jusWill’s delivery was not what they expected.
King operates this way because he believes poetry is for everyone. “There’s not very many people that you’ll meet who have never written a poem, and then there’s only a few more than that who aren’t still currently writing,” he said. “They may not share, and may not write often, but usually when people feel some type of way outside of the norm, either extremely good or extremely down, they write about it.”
