The Cap City Open Mic is the longest continually running open mic in central Jersey. There are two reasons it has stayed so strong for so long. The first is the host Todd Evans is completely immersed in community poetry and is so hardheaded that he could keep it going through the sheer force of his willpower. The second reason is the family makes up the Open Mic. They make this a supportive place for poets to read their work. New poets, young poets, shy poets and poets tapping into raw and painful incidents in their lives are all welcomed by veteran poets. They do all sorts of work-emotional, academic, political, personal, Christian, beautiful, spoken word, poetry, music, stand-up and even bar trivia. The Open Mic has gone through many changes. It has been held in the back of the bookstore, on the sidewalk, as part of Art All Night and as part of a walking tour through downtown Trenton in honor of Doc Long. It has published its own chapbook and now a second book of poetry that you hold in your hands. Todd jokes that the only thing he hasn't done is do poetry underwater-but knowing him I am sure that is coming soon. Based in Classics Bookshop in downtown Trenton, the Cap City Open Mic regularly meets on the first Saturday of every month at 2 pm. Join us and you can see that I am telling the truth. Eric Maywar- Owner Classic's Books and Gifts