It’s been 10 years since John Hensley started Flypoet as a "quality controlled open mic" in the loft at the Monsoon Cafe on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Publicity for his first event consisted of him forcing all his friends to come: “Knowing that you can't do that often, I also knew that the show would have to be the centerpiece of the type of evening that would make people want to come back without the threat of me disowning them.”

One of the first things he’ll tell you a decade on is that his events are no longer open mic in any respect. At first his vision was “of getting away from the coffee house and bookstores and presenting GOOD poets in a sexy atmosphere with added musical elements, where people could bring a date, have a drink, a bite to eat and know that there would be quality talent.” After nearly a year he dropped the open mic aspect all together, went to a monthly format and started” seriously focusing on production and propelling spoken word (and spoken word artists) to the next level.”

A poet himself (“a combination of being sick in the head, a ham, and having a gift for putting pen to paper”), he no longer scouts talent. It comes to him. You can see the result of his odyssey at “Flypoet: 10 year Anniversary Blowout” at the Ford July 2.

* Flypoet 10 Year Anniversary Blowout is featured on “Arts Alive”  at 8 am Sat June 25, KUSC 91.5 FM

-Linda