Poetry at the Loft in Redlands tonite. We got bumped from the Mitten building which was double-booked with a holiday party. The curator, Sholeh Wolpe, was able to move us over to the Boiler Room – I had pictured a soggy basement, but the Boiler Room turned out to be the name of a really nice, well-lit bar adjoining the Mitten. The open mic at this event was brief – just 3 readers reading 1 poem each – Neil Aitken, a local student in the MFA program at UCR, read a gorgeous Pushcart nominated poem, and 2 other locals also shared their work. Marie Char, a traditional Chinese musician, played erhu. Check out Neil's blog for a generous write-up of the evening's programming.