The Poetry of Karima Hoisan at Ce Soir Arts - Allen Eppenberger Reporting…

Ce Soir is a place of quiet solitude. I was to be here for the poetry of Karima Hoisan. The hosts for this evening are Aeon and Mireille Jenvieve-Woodford, the owners of Ce Soir Music and Arts. I strolled about the grounds of this sim during the mid afternoon settings. The low shadows give the location a Gothic feel. Rather than a trimmed and manicured garden, you will find grounds that haven't been mowed, and trees in need of pruning. This is a wonderful setting for the buildings, which are open and spacious.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Ms. Hoisan on the Tuesday before her performance at "Kari's Kantina del Mar" to conduct a quick interview. Ms. Hoisan has been in-world for four years. Currently living in Costa Rica, she prefers to keep her persona in Second Life and physical reality separate. Karima isn't classically trained as a writer, yet she has been writing since the age of 9. She's published in the default world, writing under a pen-name. Karima has two poetry books published, and two children’s books of poetry. She is featured in an anthology of 13 poets chosen internationally and published this year in the USA. She also plans on publishing her book “Digital Rabbit Hole” in RL, in a soft-cover format.
At one point, she had not written in over a year, so she brought a friend into SL. There, they read to each other to get their creative juices flowing. She sometimes writes her own music to complement her poetry.

I arrived in Ce Soir early, and was impressed that there were so many people arriving to hear the poetry reading. We were meeting at the "Magic Tree". Set against images of several artists, and playing music from various composers and musicians and the works recited by Karima.

Each piece was passionate, being recited from Karima's heart. Many in the audience were moved by the works, particularly "Whale Song", a piece about the love between two of the mammals, and their unfortunate separation. The next day, Karima and I had IMed about her show. I mentioned how lovely the readings were, and how the audience connected with her. She was quite pleased, agreeing everyone was quite connected and enthusiastic. She thought it went well, in spite of the glitches in the tech.

Karima will have her next poetry readings in the Costa Rica Sim on February 23rd at 1 PM SLT, and the Avalon Sim, to be announced. She also has a venture coming in the future with a poetry concern in Vermont, where she will have her Cantina televised during her readings, and the Vermont location will be televised in her Kantina. That date will also be announced.

(Poetry reading images courtesy of Janfolkert Alter)